Coetzee hopes Bulls will ‘mature and grow’ on European tours

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee says it’s important for the team to get accustomed to touring in Europe in order to secure consistently positive results.

The Pretoria side is involved in the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, and both competitions will require them to go to Europe to play away games during the season.

Touring often brings challenges and pushes teams to the limit as it tests their camaraderie and how they adapt to tough situations on the field.

The Bulls are currently on a URC European tour for four weeks, which began on the wrong foot as Jake White’s side lost 26-19 to Ulster last weekend.

They continue their journey in Europe when they take on Italian side Zebre on Saturday and will follow that up with games against Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Even though life on tour may present difficulties, Coetzee has urged his troops to soldier on and get results to boost their playoff aspirations in the competition.

“We all know touring the UK and Europe is never easy, and it’s a challenge in itself. It’s something we have to mature and grow into because there are no easy games on tour,” Coetzee said.

“You want to get as many wins on tour as possible to set yourself up for a playoff spot at the end of the season.  If you want to be competitive you have to get results on tour, and also thrive in your home games and domestic competition.”

Solid start

As it is still early days in the season, teams are still finding their feet and concluding their final phase of pre-season, and the Bulls have looked like genuine contenders in the two games they have played in the URC so far.

Coetzee is happy with the progress the team has made and wants them to be consistent and competitive during the season.

“It’s all about that experience and the youth blending into one system where we can thrive for success. You don’t enter a competition just to go through the motions; you want to be in a good spot in the playoffs or competition for the championship,” said the skipper.

“We are going to our third game, all in all, I’m very happy with where we are, and we are growing as a team. Our main focus is to be consistent and competitive every weekend.”