Aranos Coetzee

Johannes Voges 'Aranos' Coetzee (born 14 March 1988) is a Namibian rugby union player for the Cheetahs in the Pro14 and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup. His regular position is prop.

Coetzee was born in Windhoek and went to primary school in Aranos before moving to South Africa to attend Hoër Landbouskool Boland in Paarl. He was selected to represent Western Province at the 2006 Academy Week and was subsequently included in a South Africa team that participated at the Under-18 Africa Cup.

After high school, Coetzee moved to Potchefstroom, where he represented the Leopards U21s in the 2008 and 2009 Under-21 Provincial Championships.

Coetzee played Varsity Cup rugby for NWU Pukke during the 2010 Varsity Cup competition, making eight appearances as he helped Pukke reach the semi-finals of the competition for the third consecutive season, where they lost to eventual champions Maties.

Coetzee made his first class debut on 9 July 2010, playing off the bench in a 13–43 defeat to the Golden Lions in Phokeng in the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division. He was mainly used as a replacement in the competition, making nine appearances off the bench, but he did make his first senior start in their 17–59 defeat to Western Province in Cape Town and also started their home match against the Blue Bulls two weeks later.

After the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division, Coetzee moved to France, where he joined Top 14 side Racing Métro. He made a single appearance for them off the bench during the 2010–11 Top 14 season. In 2011–12, he played for them on seven occasions and also made his first start for them against Biarritz, helping them to finish in sixth spot on the log. He also played in the Heineken Cup competition for the first time, making four appearances as Racing Metro failed to progress from Pool 2; this included one start in their match against Edinburgh.

Coetzee moved to Brive for the 2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 season, where he became far more involved in first-team action, making 27 appearances for the side as they finished second in the competition behind Oyonnax and subsequently gaining promotion to the Top 14 for 2013–14 by beating Pau 30–10 in the promotion play-off final.

Coetzee made fifteen appearances for Brive in the 2013–14 Top 14 season as they finished in ninth spot on the log. He made another seven appearances in the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup, where he helped them to top Pool 3 with five wins and a draw to qualify for the Quarter Finals, where they lost 7–39 to English Premiership side Bath.