After his recent half century for the Vodacom Bulls, Marcell Coetzee’s father Dries spoke with absolute pride about the character his son has shown throughout his career.

There was a time when the headmaster at Marcell Coetzee’s high school thought his pupil had a serious dental problem. Coetzee’s father, Dries, was regularly signing him out of hostel or school “to go to the dentist”. Even on a Saturday. Then it dawned on him that all these “dental appointments” coincided with anything involving the Vodacom Bulls and Loftus Versfeld.

‘Going to the dentist’

“Fortunately the headmaster was a big rugby fan and eventually he said to me, ‘Dries, I know what’s going on. It’s not a problem’. I would sign him out and we’d drive up from the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal to Loftus. We’d stay with a friend of mine, watch the game and then drive back on Sunday. If Marcell heard I was coming to pick him up to go to the ‘dentist’, he couldn’t contain himself he was so excited,” says Dries as he reflects on his son’s remarkable career which reached another significant milestone in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this year when he made his 50th appearance for the Vodacom Bulls.

The 33-year-old Coetzee has made his name as not only one of the most fearsome flankers in the game, but also a team man through and through who has the respect of his peers wherever he has played. And he’s done so while battling the odds of not attending a big-name rugby school, not being selected for Craven Week, and fighting back from ACL and MCL injuries. He’s made 31 appearances for the Springboks, but there have also been countless times he’s been overlooked for national selection, most notably for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and more recently the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

‘He never gave up.’

“You get your tar road career and your dirt road career to the professional ranks. He definitely had a difficult road,” says Dries. “But he never gave up. He refuses to lie down.”

Coetzee’s decision after school reflects his dedication to his dream, and is a powerful message to any youngster out there who might believe the door is shut on his own dreams.

“He matriculated at Port Natal and the question was whether he goes to study or not. He was always very good at academics. He’d played in the Bokkieweek’s teams and captained them, but there was no Craven Week selection because the selectors just didn’t look at the smaller schools. But he was always so dedicated. During Matric he joined a group of friends in paying a deposit for a house for their Matric holiday at Margate. But by November he came to me and said he doesn’t want to go anymore because it will be all partying and so on, and he needs to focus on his rugby. So he instead spent the whole of his December holiday training with Jannie Brooks. He trained so hard. So we decided to give him a year to play rugby after school, and he joined the Sharks Academy. And he turned a few senior heads there. They actually queried how the school selectors missed him,” says Dries.

Springbok debut with Eben

Dries says he always knew his son had potential, but that his quick rise through the ranks surprised even him. Coetzee was 19 years old when he made his senior debut for the Hollywoodbets Sharks against the Brumbies in Durban. Then, at the age of 21, he made his Springbok debut against England in Durban.

“The day he made his debut for the Springboks in Durban was very emotional. Just before that game I was walking to the stands and I started chatting with another guy and he said, ‘You know, today I’m the proudest father in this stadium. And I said, ‘Well, actually I’m a pretty proud father myself today’. And he said, ‘My son Eben Etzebeth is making his Springbok debut today’. And you know, to this day Eben and Marcell are very close friends. Eben was one of Marcell’s Best Men at his wedding.”

But there was never any doubt in Dries’ mind that Marcell would play rugby and nothing else, because that’s where his passion always lay.

‘Dad. If they select me for the World Cup, I’ll play for free’

“Marcell once said, ‘Dad, if they select me for the Rugby World Cup, they don’t even have to pay me. I just want to play’. During lockdown, he was still playing for Ulster and just made it back home. He stayed at his house in Marloth Park with his family. And at 4am he would be out running with a headlamp on to keep fit. What Marcell has achieved is because of his absolute hard work. That’s why to this day he has no problem driving all the way to Komatipoort on a Wednesday to go and talk to a small school there, and then driving back to Pretoria the same day. He really has a heart for giving back. And I’ve never seen him get irritated with anybody who asks for an autograph or photo. He plays every game as if it’s his last. He knows the privilege it is for him to still be playing top level rugby, and he never takes it for granted,” says Dries.

Of all the milestones Coetzee has achieved in his career, including playing over 50 games for his school, the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Ulster and now the Vodacom Bulls, Dries says he has no doubt where his son’s heart lies in terms of these achievements.

‘The 50 for the Vodacom Bulls stands out for him’

“I think the 50 for the Vodacom Bulls will stand out for him. They have such a proud history, and he’s enjoying his rugby so much with them.”

It’s hard to argue with Dries.

There is no doubt that all those trips to the “dentist” at Loftus Versfeld made a young boy dream the biggest dreams of the day when he’d pull on that famous blue jersey.