Namibian veteran prop Aranos Coetzee on Friday made history when he clocked an astonishing 100th match for club Toyota Cheetahs in their 28-21 win over Western Province during a Currie Cup clash at the DHL stadium in Cape Town.
The 34-year-old bulky prop, who has played 24 Tests for Namibia’s Welwitschias, on Friday became the first Namibian rugby player to ever achieve the milestone of clocking 100 matches for a South African club.
Coetzee, who has been on the Cheetahs’ books since 2016, having previously also played for the Leopards and French clubs Racing Metro and Brive, has been praised by Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie for not being a fancy player but being one who always gets the basics rights.
Speaking to www.news24.com’s podcast, Fourie said Namibian rugby greats like Renaldo Bothma, Jacques Burger, Rohan Kitshoff, Kees Lensing, Theuns Kotze and Johan Deysel have been far more successful in capturing the imagination, but – as Coetzee’s 100-matches achievement attests to – reliability and longevity get duly rewarded.
Coetzee, despite being beset by various injuries over the past few years, remains the bedrock of the Cheetahs’ scrum.
Yet, as he approaches the twilight of a career that’s also seen him represent Namibia at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, Fourie still hopes his veteran front-rower can find himself in a position where he can conjure up a line-break.
Because, as it turns out, Coetzee – nicknamed after the small town near the Botswanan border where he grew up – is lightning quick.
“One of the many other skills that aren’t always immediately apparent is his pace. Every game I’m yearning for him to have a clean break so that supporters can see that in action. It happens quite often in training and those runs really have the back huffing if they want to catch up with him,” said an impressed Fourie.
“Aranos is quite a reserved guy; someone who tends to be in the background a bit off the field. But when he’s on it, he stands back for no one. When he’s scrumming, which is the primary job of a tight-head, then he’s in the zone. He’ll take on anyone. You can see scrumming is what he prides himself on. He’s really a superb exponent in that regard and continues to be. Aranos is a special player and a special person. We are all really happy for him. He’s played in two World Cups too, so he has a lot to be proud of.”
– Adapted from www.news24.com