Michael Coetzee

A product of Selborne College in East London, Michael Coetzee started playing for Border u21 in 1999 and remained with the province until 2006 when he signed to play for Racing Metro in the French ProD2. Metro had big plans as a club and Coetzee found himself playing alongside some world class players, not last of all, Andrew Mehrtens.

His game grew stronger and he became a very well respected tighthead prop in France over the 3 years he spent at Racing Metro. By the end of 2008/09 season, he had played over 70 times for Racing Metro and the club had gained promotion to Top 14.

In 2009 he decided to move to Castres even though Racing Metro were very keen for him to remain at the club. It was not an easy decision for him to leave Racing Metro at the time but he felt Castres, under the coaching of Laurent Travers, would be a competitive team and a good environment.

In his first season with Castres, he struggled with injury but he came back strongly in his second season and has subsequently extended his contract with Castres for a further 3 seasons.

Coetzee is on the small side for a tighthead prop but his consistency in Top 14 indicates that he is a reliable scrummager and highly rated.

Date of Birth: 06/12/79
Position: Tighthead Prop
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 112kg
Currently contracted to: Castres

Rugby Career

2012: Castres (Top 14)
2011: Castres (Top 14)
2010: Castres (Top 14)
2006-09: Racing Metro (Top 14)
2001-06: Border Bulldogs (Currie Cup - 70 first class games)