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| Full name | Marcell Cornelius Coetzee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 May 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Potchefstroom, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 117 kg (18 st 6 lb; 258 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Port Natal High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marcell Cornelius Coetzee (born 8 May 1991) is a South African rugby union player who is the captain for South African side the Blue Bulls. He plays as a flanker.
Coetzee made his debut in Super Rugby for the Sharks against the Brumbies on Saturday 7 May 2011. [2] He has offloading skills that have been likened to those of Sonny Bill Williams. [3]
Heyneke Meyer, Springboks coach, included him in the national squad to face England in a test series where Coetzee made his Springbok test debut on 9 June 2012 in Durban. [4]
Coetzee joined Japanese Top League side Honda Heat for the 2015–2016 season. [5]
In February 2016, it was announced that he would join Irish Pro12 side Ulster on a three-year deal starting in the 2016–2017 season. [6] Coetzee featured sparingly in his first two seasons with Ulster, due to recurring knee injury problems. [7] Coetzee was the 2020–21 joint top try-scorer (9) and the 2020–21 Pro14 Players' Player of the Season in his final season with Ulster. [8]
In December 2020 the Bulls confirmed that Coetzee would join the franchise in June 2021 on a three-year deal. [9]
| Against | Pld | W | D | L | Tri | Con | Pen | DG | Pts | %Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 75 |
 Australia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 |
 England | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
 Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 |
 Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 New Zealand | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
 Scotland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 100 |
 Wales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 26 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 65.38 |
Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands Stadium | 2012 Rugby Championship | 18 August 2012 | Won 27-6 |
| 2 | Scotland | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | Mid-year rugby test series | 28 June 2014 | Won 55-6 |
| 3 | Scotland | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | Mid-year rugby test series | 28 June 2014 | Won 55-6 |
| 4 | Argentina | Salta, Argentina | Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena | 2014 Rugby Championship | 23 August 2014 | Won 33-31 |
| 5 | Australia | Cape Town, South Africa | Newlands Stadium | 2014 Rugby Championship | 27 September 2014 | Won 28-10 |
| 6 | Ireland | Dublin, Ireland | Aviva Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 8 November 2014 | Lost 15-29 |
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The 2020-21 season was Ulster's 27th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's third season as head coach. Iain Henderson was captain. They competed in the Pro14, the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
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The 2018-19 season was Ulster's 25th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's first season as head coach. Rory Best was captain. They competed in the Pro14, making the semi-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals.
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