Former Vodacom Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee will lead Wayne Smith’s Kobe Steelers out when they face the Eddie Jones-mentored Suntory Sungoliath on Saturday.
In what will be just his fourth Division One outing for Kobe, Coetzee has been handed the captaincy after the club’s regular captain, Hikaru Hashimoto, suffered a concussion.
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2018 champions Kobe have made a promising start to the seas with back-to-back wins over Kintetsu and NEC Green Rockets – where Coetzee scored a try – after a narrow loss to Canon Eagles on the opening weekend.
“Our regular captain suffered a concussion in our previous game and the head coach [Nick Holten] asked if I would mind being the captain this weekend,” Coetzee was quoted by Netwerk24 on being captain.
“When the decision was announced, I enjoyed overwhelming support. Our scrum-half [Daiki Nakajima] came up to me and said, ‘Thank you for accepting it.’ It took my breath away.”
Sungoliath won the corresponding match last season 56-17 but a lot has changed since, with All Black flyhalf Aaron Cruden having switched sides, although he won’t feature after being red-carded against Yokohama for dangerous play.
The two sides are currently tied up on nine points each inside the Divison One top four, and trail league leaders Wild Knights by four points.
LO2022-23 第4節 東京サントリーサンゴリアス戦に出場するメンバーを発表‼️
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NTT JAPAN RUGBY LEAGUE ONE 2022-23
第4節)#大和ハウスグループスペシャルマッチ
⏰2023年1月14(土)14:30 KO
?東京サントリーサンゴリアス @sungoliath
?ノエビアスタジアム神戸 pic.twitter.com/vriRC4Lrcf— コベルコ神戸スティーラーズ (@kobe_steelers) January 12, 2023
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