Marcell Coetzee talks up key Springbok duo as Bulls gear up for playoffs

The Bulls will host Munster in their quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, and Coetzee, who is himself one of his team's experienced campaigners, identified Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux as the players who will be crucial in the grander scheme of things during the eagerly anticipated showdown.

Although the Bulls have finished as the runners-up in three out of the four URC finals - after losing to the Stormers in 2022, Glasgow Warriors in 2024 and Leinster in 2025 - Coetzee believes those experiences will stand them in good stead in this year's play-offs.

"The biggest thing when you get to the play-offs is the pressure," he said. The expectation pressure, sometimes media pressure. I think the boys have settled into that well by sticking to the goal at hand.

"We are not looking past a tough Munster side, to be honest. We are focusing on Munster 110 percent.

"So we want to be accurate on the day, and we want to impose our game plan. That picks you up in training, motivating the guys."

Coetzee feels the experience of Pollard and Le Roux, who played crucial roles for the Springboks during their victorious 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cup campaigns, will come in handy during the URC play-offs.

"In saying that, you can't rely on the past. But it's the learnings you take through the play-offs," he added.

"(Pollard's) got BMT moments in him and those are the sort of X-factor players you rely on coming into play-offs.

"And not just him - Nine out of 10 performances are needed from the senior group, and everyone who is involved. It's one chance, and everyone has to be on par. If we can set him up for those moments, that would be great."

After struggling during the early stages of the competition, the Bulls have improved as the tournament progressed and although they have struggled with consistency, Coetzee is quietly confident of his side's chances in the play-offs.

"We had a lot of challenges during the round-robin stage building up to this quarter-final, and we had to get certain points," he admitted.

"Maybe at times that translated onto the field, where we sometimes overplay or we wanted to maybe take opportunities, maybe forcing stuff.

"But with play-off rugby, it's different⦠at the end of the day, the team that wins goes through. So we're just focusing on our structures that we want to implement.

"I think the biggest thing is the mindset going into the play-offs and using your opportunities. You know in play-offs, when you get into the 22, you only have X amount of opportunities and we want to capitalise every time."

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