The Vodacom Bulls will not be able to use the services of their star flanker and former captain Marcell Coetzee in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal showdown against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
Coetzee has been barred from returning for the quarterfinal, even though he touched down in Pretoria earlier this week after a six month sabbatical in Japan.
According to the competition rules Coetzee had been deregistered from the Bulls squad and won’t be allowed to be registered in time for the quarterfinal against the Stormers.
This is despite the fact that the Bulls had him play seven games in this season’s competition and would have desperately wanted him available for the playoffs.
Instead, it seems Coetzee will now play for the Blue Bulls against the Sharks in the Currie Cup competition this coming weekend.
The Bulls have been silent on Coetzee’s situation but it is understood that all efforts that were made to get him registered have failed and that under the competition’s guidelines, Coetzee cannot be re-registered at this stage of the season.
It is unclear if he will be available if the Bulls do win against the Stormers and have to travel abroad for the semifinals.
The Bulls were desperate to get his leadership back in the side ahead of a tough game against their southern rivals, where they have now lost all five outings against John Dobson’s side in the URC over the past two seasons.
If you count the two Currie Cup games the Bulls lost this season the ratio is lopsided seven-zero in favour of the Stormers/WP under Dobson and it is an understatement to say it has become a bit of an obsession in Pretoria to break the losing streak.
White had significant success in the Super Rugby Unlocked and Rainbow Cup games against the Cape side, but since the official entry into URC has come up short, despite dominating several of the games.
The Bulls have been banking on causing an upset and using the pressure of a playoff game to stop the Stormers in their tracks, even though the Stormers have an unbelievable record at home and have only lost once - against Munster a few weeks back - in the past two seasons at their Cape Town base.
It is clear Coetzee would have boosted their side, but his presence in the Currie Cup will shore up that side as they face the Sharks on Saturday.