Marcell Coetzee: Three-year contract extension at Ulster for powerhouse backrow

It is a huge boost to the Province to have the powerful backrow forward agree a long term deal at Kingspan.

The 28-capped Springbok has been hugely influential in this season’s campaigns to date in Europe and domestically for the Irish Province.

Coetzee joined Ulster in 2016-17, and while he made a huge impression at the start of his first year, he was sidelined after just four caps with a serious knee injury.

He returned the following season, but made only one appearance, struck down with another serious knee injury.

There was a thought at one stage the 27-year-old may have to consider retirement, but he returned for the start of pre-season in August last year and has gone on to make 17 appearances.

Making his debut in the European Champions Cup this season, he was key in helping Ulster through their six pool matches with five wins which saw them finish runners-up in Pool Two.

They went through as the best runner-up of three across all five pools to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time since 2014.

There was speculation Coetzee may leave the Province at the end of this season when his contract was up, but he has remained loyal to a club who stuck by him in his darkest hours as he recovered from huge injury setbacks.

Committing his future to Ulster: “First of all, I want to thank the players, staff and supporters of Ulster Rugby for standing by my side over the past three seasons. It was a really tough mental and physical battle for me with the injuries, but I’m grateful for the support I had during that time and I’m determined to repay the faith shown in me.

“I can’t wait to see what the next three years holds for me and my wife personally, and for the club. We have a young, hungry squad that is clearly moving in the right direction under our coaching team. We have a lot of hard work to do, but I know that the entire organisation is focused on delivering success.”

Ulster head coach Dan McFarland said:“Marcell has been phenomenal for us this season and it’s a massive boost for us that he has chosen to remain at the club, even with significant interest from other clubs.

“He’s been through some difficult times since he arrived here and I’m delighted that he’s got a good run of games and performed at the level we know he’s capable of. At 27 years of age, we believe we are yet to witness some of his best rugby.

“Marcell provides real presence both on and off the field, and is an example of what determination and persistence can achieve. His influence and knowledge as an experienced international player has been great for our young players and he will continue to play a key role in helping to develop our indigenous forwards.”

Chief Executive, Jonny Petrie, added:“To me, this is a big statement of intent and it’s a great endorsement of the rugby programme that we have in place under Dan.

“We’re an ambitious club and it’s encouraging that players of the calibre of Marcell want to be part of our future plans, which I believe to be hugely exciting.

“I’d like to thank Bryn (Cunningham, Operations Director) for his excellent, ongoing work in terms of our recruitment and retention. With the continued investment in the development of our existing young players, supplemented by overseas players, our squad depth for next season will be stronger. Our long-term succession planning is also starting to take shape and that is critical for the sustainable success of the organisation.”