{"id":50930,"date":"2026-02-26T06:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T06:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=50930"},"modified":"2026-02-26T06:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T06:56:14","slug":"bulls-loftus-fortress-tag-pretoria-sharks-marcell-coetzee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/26\/bulls-loftus-fortress-tag-pretoria-sharks-marcell-coetzee\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulls look to restore &#8216;Loftus fortress&#8217; tag with win over Sharks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>After losing their last three home games, the Pretoria side are targeting redemption at Loftus against the Sharks this Saturday.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Having built a reputation for travelling well with big away wins in recent years, the Bulls now want to restore their \u201cLoftus fortress\u201d tag.<\/p>\n<p>Captain Marcell Coetzee said a win against the Sharks in their penultimate United Rugby Championship SA Shield match of the season would go a long way towards restoring pride after successive home defeats to the Lions, Union Bordeaux B\u00e8gles and Bristol Bears.<\/p>\n<p>A win would also re-ignite their hopes of winning the SA Shield, provided the Stormers beat the Lions on the same day.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-restoring-loftus-fortress\">Restoring Loftus fortress<\/h2>\n<p>Last season, the Bulls became the first South African side to\u00a0beat Munster\u00a0at their home ground and only the second to\u00a0win against Glasgow Warriors\u00a0in Scotland. They were also the first team to beat\u00a0French side Bayonne\u00a0at home well into the season.<\/p>\n<p>This season, the Pretoria side similarly beat French giants Pau in France, secured their first-ever win against Edinburgh in Scotland \u2013 the second SA team to do so \u2013 and then crushed the Lions 57-12 at Ellis Park in their last match before the tournament break.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the first time the Bulls have recorded three straight victories this season, again highlighting their strength on the road.<\/p>\n<p>Coetzee said their \u201cbig challenge\u201d was restoring their impressive home record, including a 4-2 win record against the Sharks at Loftus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to get our spectators excited to come to Loftus again by playing a good brand of rugby, and just imposing our DNA,\u201d the Bulls captain said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at the past, last season the Sharks and Stormers beat us here. That is a factor we identified \u2013 seeing how we can be better towards building, handling pressure and exerting our dominance. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve been working on.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bulls-hope-to-grab-every-opportunity-to-dominate\">Bulls hope to grab every opportunity to dominate<\/h3>\n<p>He said players felt just as much excitement as their fans about derby games, and the Bulls-Sharks match-up was as big as they come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you take the history between the two sides, it\u2019s a personal derby. Every guy wants to give his best, playing against Springboks all over the park. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about the moments. The team that uses the moments in pressure times normally gets through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Coetzee said the Bulls would have to remain composed to counter threats from the Sharks.<\/p>\n<p>Both teams are expected to bring a number of Springboks back from their mandated rest period.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Bulls #restore #Loftus #fortress #tag #win #Sharks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After losing their last three home games, the Pretoria side are targeting redemption at Loftus against the Sharks this Saturday.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50932,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50930\/revisions\/50932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}