Jesse Kriel backs the Springboks to bounce back and win the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1, likening the next three weeks to the pressure of playing in a World Cup.
The Boks lost 33-16 to the All Blacks on Saturday in the opening Test at Ellis Park, with New Zealand crossing five times to South Africa’s one. Speaking post-match, Kriel put the result down to uncharacteristic errors under the cosh.
“It’s part of the game and we need to be a bit more accurate,” the veteran centre told reporters. “In Test match rugby, if you don’t convert and you don’t take your opportunities and other teams do, the scoreboard is normally not in your favour.
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“The All Blacks were clinical when they got their chances. We’ll have to be better and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Asked whether the world champions could still turn things around, with Cape Town Stadium up next, followed by matches in Soweto and Baltimore, the two-time World Cup winner likened the remainder of the series to knockout rugby.
“The great thing about this game and this series is that there are three more chances,” he said.
“We’ve been in situations like this before. We know we weren’t as accurate as we wanted to be. We also know that New Zealand played unbelievably well, they were well prepared and came here with a great plan.
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“We knew coming into this that it would kind of feel like knockout rugby, so yeah, you could look at it like that. We just know that we’ve got three more chances to perform the way we want to and play like the team we know we can be.”
Kriel also touched on the backline reshuffle forced by injuries to speedsters Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe.
“A lot of us train for situations like that. I obviously shifted to the wing, and I’m quite comfortable there, and Grant Williams went to the wing. Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ended up going to fullback. In big games like this, you have to be able to adapt.
“I just don’t think we were as accurate as we wanted to be on the night, and New Zealand put us under a lot of pressure,” the 32-year-old added.
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Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post Kriel got that knockout rugby feeling appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Jesse Kriel backs the Springboks to bounce back and win the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1, likening the next three weeks to the pressure of playing in a World Cup.
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