Coetzee aiming for greater heights
With his Test match baptism out of the way young Springbok flank Marcell Coetzee is keen to put together a more complete performance next weekend.
The 21-year-old loose forward admitted that the first 40 minutes of his Test debut were a bit of a blur, as he tried his best to make his presence felt against a physical England side that put the Boks under some serious pressure in the first half.
The Boks managed to secure a deserved 22-17 win, with a commanding second-half performance – after the scorers were level 6-all at the half-time break.
Coetzee told this website: "That first half flew by and I knew that I had to make a step up – you have to adapt quickly to the speed and physicality of the game.
"I think it showed in those first 15 minutes that there were a lot of butterflies and nervousness that made it quite slow for us to get into the game, but we had to adapt quickly, turn to our structure and believe in our structure."
The Boks struggled to get any meaningful momentum going before half-time at Kings Park thanks to an England side who were ferocious in the tackle area, and as a result there was not much meaningful possession for the hosts.
"They definitely brought physicality to the game which they showed in the first half when they beat us to the breakdown, but luckily we adapted and gave them some of that South African physicality.
"We definitely let ourselves down at the breakdown in the first half, we spoke about it at half-time that we had to get quick ball for the backs to score tries," said Coetzee.
The young loose forward said that the new combinations in the Bok side struggled to gel in the first half, but explained that they managed to play with far more confidence thanks to some wise counsel at half-time.
"I think some players were a little uncertain of their roles, there were too few cleaners and we were not quick enough to the breakdown but we will fix it going into the Test next week.
"There was a bit of uncertainty coming into half-time but the coaches just calmed us down and told us to believe in the structure and focus on the task ahead. There were errors at the breakdown definitely and we will just pick it up from there moving into the second Test," he said.
Coetzee was relieved to come through his international debut in front of his home crowd with a victory, but he is aware that there are many areas where he can sharpen up, and now that he has a better understanding of what Test rugby is all about he is confident that he can make an even bigger impact next week in Johannesburg.
"I think the shock is now over and I know what to expect in the second Test and I will focus on my areas and try and build on that.
"I have definitely grown in confidence, but maybe I am just saying that and on Thursday and Friday the butterflies will be back," he said.
By Michael de Vries, in Durban
