Johannesburg – The Lions’ Andries Coetzee took full responsibility for his blunder in the closing moments of their United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster this past weekend, while vowing to ensure that he will endeavour to never let his teammates down in such a fashion again.
Trailing the Ulstermen 39-37 – which would eventually be the final score – the Lions won a crucial penalty in their half with minus-three minutes on the clock. Up stepped the Springbok fullback in the hopes of taking advantage of his hefty left boot in search of a kick reaching maximum distance, only to miss touch completely.
A desperate Ulster hacked the ball into touch closer to the half-way line. Although Coetzee’s mistake was indefensible, he doesn’t carry the blame alone.
From the resulting lineout – which offered the Lions a final opportunity to sneak a win – their forwards committed another egregious error by not winning their own throw-in, instead knocking the ball on for the match to be decided by an Ulster scrum.
The visitors’ set-piece held firm, and it ended the Lions’ push for a remarkable comeback after an Ulster blitz on either side of halftime had put the hosts to the sword, and a 34-18 deficit.
“Look, its one of those things you have to take on the chin,” Coetzee said.
“We don’t really talk about it (between coaches and players) because it is almost compulsory for you to do that (and get it right). It was just a silly error and it may have cost us at the end of the game with an opportunity to go score.
“That reflected in myself very badly. I would say I am my harshest critic and it is one of those you have to get right. You have to do your basics right and then the X-factor will come later.
“That was one of my slip-ups and I have to take it on the chin. It is in the past and I have to go forward. It is with a heavy heart when you drop the guys on a kick like that, and I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Despite the error, Coetzee has had a solid season for the Lions upon his return to the union. He has been unafraid to attack the gainline on the counter, although he has had a penchant so far to isolate himself from his ball-carriers, while arguably not finding the off-load as frequently as he should.
Despite those short-comings, however, he has brought a degree of composure to the backline.
The Lions, and Coetzee, will hope to bounce back this weekend when they host Glasgow Warriors on Saturday at Ellis Park.
@FreemanZAR
