Cape Town - The Stormers, back at home after their four-game tour of Australasia, recorded a hard-fought 15-13 win over the Bulls to maintain their unbeaten run against South African teams in 2015.
Five Demetri Catrakilis penalty goals did the trick for the Stormers, whilst captain Duane Vermeulen – back from his two-week rest – produced some heroics when he charged down an attempted drop-goal from the Bulls’ Handré Pollard almost on the stroke of full-time.
"It was quite an intense game – it had the sell-out crowd on the edge of their seats.
"It was physical and brutal, but had a lot of suspense," a pleased Coetzee told the Stormers' official website.
"The drop-goal could’ve gone over (in the 79th minute), so I could’ve been singing a different tune I guess, but fortunately we had Duane Vermeulen on our side – it’s not something you can coach.
"The Bulls came to play, but, once again, our team showed character in what was a short week (after our tour) and in the context of this competition this is an excellent win for us, it’s an important four points and that’s how we march on in the 2015 Super Rugby competition.
"We have a lot of respect for the Bulls, this was a much-improved Bulls team (from our first meeting in Pretoria), but here I must thank our crowd for their amazing support and for willing us on.