Bulls' sense of purpose turned losing into winning, says captain Marcell Coetzee

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee says no magic wand was waved to turn his team’s seven-match losing streak into the run of wins they are currently enjoying.

The Bulls go into their home United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers on Saturday (2pm kick-off) on the back of four wins on the bounce, including two heavy defeats of the Lions and the Sharks in their last two matches.

“When we were losing those games, it was never a case of anyone losing the faith or us searching for a miracle cure; it was about sticking to the plan and not losing the belief that we could turn it around,” Coetzee said.

“We felt we just needed one win to kick-start a momentum block. The players came together as a group, and it is a compliment to them and the management that we all stuck together and kept fighting.”

Coetzee is spot on. Once the Bulls ground out a defeat of Pau in France, they knocked over Edinburgh the next week. After a break in South Africa, they overwhelmed the Lions at Ellis Park 52–17 and, latterly, thumped the Sharks 41–17 in Pretoria.

“It was just about everyone pulling together, on and off the field,” Coetzee explained. “Coach Ackers (Johan Ackermann) is big on the standards being driven by the leaders. It just took a bit of time.

"I think a big thing coming from the coach is that every player feels he has a sense of purpose and an important role to play, whether he is starting, on the bench, or outside the match-day 23.

“Every player knows where he stands with the coach, and Ackers has an open-door policy. But that sense of purpose is the biggest thing.”

* Mike Greenaway is a senior rugby reporter at Independent Media and a contributor on our Last World on Rugby podcast on our YouTube channel, The Clutch.