Springbok centre Jesse Kriel not losing sleep over ‘battle-hardened’ Wallabies
Springbok centre Jesse Kriel dismissed concerns about the Wallabies’ preparation, expressing confidence and excitement for the upcoming Rugby Championship opener against Australia at Ellis Park. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
Springboks centre Jesse Kriel has rubbished any suggestions that Australia may be more battle-hardened heading into their Rugby Championship opener, at Ellis Park, in Johannesburg, on Saturday.
Dating back to June 28, the Springboks have played four matches. The first was a 54-7 win against the Barbarians in Cape Town, before two victories (42-24 in Pretoria & 45-0 in Nelson Mandela Bay) over Italy before the 55-10 drubbing of Georgia in Nelspruit on July 19.
Since then, it’s been back to training for the Boks while the Wallabies played two of their final three Tests against the British and Irish Lions. Though Australia lost the series 2-1, they did win their final encounter in Sydney on August 2.
It certainly seems then that Australia have had the better preparation ahead of the Rugby Championship, but Kriel was having none of it when that was suggested to the Bok centre.
Kriel’s Midfield Partnership with Esterhuizen and Excitement for Upcoming Challenge
“We’ll have to see Saturday. I believe we’ve worked hard. I think everyone’s obviously got their opinions on battle-hardened or not, but I think it’s the way you pitch up every day to training, the way you pitch up with the mindset to whatever you approach throughout your week,” said Kriel.
“And I think for us, again, it’s a good opportunity for us to represent South Africa. I don’t think anyone takes it lightly in this environment, so I’m very excited for the challenge and confident that we’ll be up for it.”
Kriel will partner in the midfield with Andre Esterhuizen as Damian de Allende is nursing a niggle. Linking up with Esterhuizen will also be something Kriel was looking forward to.
“There’s so much competition in each position. I think Andre was extremely good in all the Test matches he played in. So very excited to play with Andre. I’ve played with him many times, actually quite a bit against Australia, so excited for him to show.
“And also, excited to get another opportunity to play again. I think, yeah, Canan [Moodie] is also involved, so very excited to see what he can do when he comes on. I think it’s a great opportunity for a lot of guys.”