VIDEO - Marcell Coetzee: 'Bulls still chasing the perfect game'
VIDEO: Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee is not too concerned about his side facing one of the strongest and weakest teams in the United Rugby Champions on their upcoming tour.
The Bulls play the Dragons in Newport on Saturday, the second lowest team on the table, and a week later they tackle log leaders Leinster.
The Bulls depart for their tour on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Coetzee, they haven’t even looked at Leinster this week as they are prepping for the Dragons game.
“We haven’t even given a thought to Leinster yet, we have been solidly focused on the Dragons this week and will then take it from there,” Coetzee told reporters on Monday.
“It comes down to your culture. At the Bulls every week we prepare as if we are playing the best team in the world.
“We know we haven’t won anything and it doesn’t help to get complacent against the Dragons because that’s the first lesson you will quickly learn playing against those boys.
“It comes down to your culture, it comes down to the leadership. We are not yet where we want to be and that’s what we strive for.
“We are still chasing that perfect game, especially with an away game where it can get a bit wet and sluggish.
“Some officials sometimes call it different, the challenge of a tour, being away from home. So it’s about accepting that challenge at the end of the day and seeing how you can rise above it,” the captain explained.
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At the time of the interview the touring squad had not yet been announced, but Coetzee was confident in the selection process and that any Bulls team would be competitive.
“No matter who we take, it will be a competitive team that wants to do the job. And the big thing is building consistency going forward.
“It is coming to that crunch stage of the tournament and we are looking good so far and you don’t really want to tempt that in any way.”
The Dragons have struggled with their set-pieces, especially their scrums, and Coetzee confirmed that it was something the Bulls would look to exploit.
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“Every week when you sit down, you identify strengths and weaknesses that you can maybe exploit.
“Our scrums have been going well this season and we are just hoping to build on that. Not just in that department, but also our line-outs and overall general play.
“The Dragons are a proud side, they will always be hard. Even during my time playing at Ulster, it was always a difficult task playing there.
“Rugby is the ultimate leveller. We will give them the respect they deserve. We are just looking to assert our dominance in the game and what we want to bring on the day,” he concluded.
