Abraham Jacobus Coetzee (born 10 June 1996) is a South African rugby union player for English Premiership side Bath Rugby. His regular position is number eight.

Rugby career

2013–2014: Youth rugby

Coetzee was born in Pretoria, but grew up in KwaZulu-Natal. He attended Glenwood High School, where he earned selections to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the premier high school rugby union tournament in South Africa, the Under-18 Craven Week in both 2013 and 2014. He scored one try in the 2013 event, in a 77–14 victory over Border, and scored three tries in 2014 – two in a 38–27 win over the Pumas and one in a 15–36 defeat to the Blue Bulls – in a tournament where he also captained the team. After the tournament, he was named in a South Africa Schools squad, also named captain of the team. He captained them to a victory over France in their first match, but sustained an ankle injury and missed the remaining two matches in the Under-18 International Series.

2015–2016: Western Province Under-19 and Under-21

After high school, Coetzee moved to Cape Town to join 's academy. He scored four tries in eleven starts for the team in the 2015 Under-19 Provincial Championship, and three tries in six starts for the team in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship.

2017: Stormers

At the start of 2017, Coetzee was included in the squad for Western Province's affiliated Super Rugby team, the . He was named as a replacement for their third match of the season against the , and he came on in the 70th minute of the match to make his first class and Super Rugby debut.

2021: Bath Rugby In February 2021 it was confirmed that Coetzee would join English Premiership Rugby side Bath ahead of the 2021–22 season.

References