Bulls blocked from picking Marcell Coetzee for Stormers quarter-final

The Bulls are unable to call on the services of star flanker Marcell Coetzee for Saturday's URC quarter-final against the Stormers in Cape Town.

According to SuperSport.com, the Bulls team captain had been deregistered from their squad despite having played seven games earlier in the season.

He recently returned to South Africa after a six-moth sabbatical playing for the Kobelco Kobe Steelers in Japan.

The website reports that the Bulls had made a concerted effort to get Coetzee re-registered, but failed in their quest. Under the competition's guidelines, the player cannot be re-registered at this stage of the season.

Friday, 5 May

Quarter-final 2: Ulster (2) v Connacht (7) - Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (20:35 SA time) 

Saturday, 6 May: 

Quarter-final 3: Stormers (3) v Bulls (6) - Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town (15:30)

Quarter-Final 1: Leinster (1) v Sharks (8) - Aviva Stadium, Dublin (18:00 SA time).

Quarter-Final 4: Glasgow Warriors (4) v Munster (5) - Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow (20:35 SA time)

It is unclear if the Springbok will be available for the semi-finals if the Bulls beat the Stormers.

In the semi-finals, to be played the weekend of May 12/13, the winner of QF1 will play the winner of QF4 and the winner of QF2 will play the winner of QF3. 

In a change to last season's rules, the teams with the highest seeding in each semi-final will have home venue rights.

Previously, the winners of QF1 and QF2 were guaranteed home draws no matter their ranking.  

SF1: Leinster (1)/Sharks (8) v Glasgow Warriors (4)/Munster (5)

SF2: Ulster (2)/Connacht (7) v Stormers (3)/Bulls (6) 

The semi-final winners will meet on Saturday, 27 May at the venue of the highest-ranked team to have qualified for the URC Grand Final.

Coetzee now looks set to