Roaring Lion Kriel has X factor the Springboks will need at the World Cup
JACO Kriel was worldclass at Newlands but, such is the quality of loose-forward talent in South African rugby, Kriel is not guaranteed a Springbok squad berth.
His form this season has consistently been among the best of the South African flankers, with Stormers and Springbok veteran Schalk Burger the only one who matches Kriel for form. Burger has international pedigree, a World Cup winner’s medal and a winning habit.
Kriel has potential but his form is red-hot.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has said there are 12 loose forwards in SA good enough to play for the Springboks.
Then there are foreignbased loose forwards who have played for the Springboks and continue to excel in northern hemisphere club competitions.
It is the position in which SA is most blessed for depth. Meyer, when asked about Kriel’s lack of game time on the 2014 Springbok November tour, asked, “At whose expense”? Kriel was a newbie with Meyer’s Bok culture and the tour was more an introduction to Meyer, the coaching staff and players he has only ever played against at Currie Cup and Super Rugby level. Kriel’s impact in the 2014 Currie Cup was immense, but it was a tournament without the current Test regulars.
He toured with the Boks, but more as a tourist.
Now he has again made an impact in Super Rugby. Meyer may feel 12 doesn’t fit into five but Kriel certainly fits into the European club scene. French clubs, most notably Toulon, have shown interest.
The right rugby decision for Kriel, would be to play in Europe next year. He is just 26, the money would be way more than what he could command in SA and if he dominates the Top 14 and European Cup challenge in the company of some of the world’s best players, he makes an even stronger case for national selection.
Kriel’s performance against the Stormers had all the qualities of a Test flanker. The pace and skills might be passed off as that of a dazzler in Super Rugby, but his physicality, decision-making at the breakdown and being a “mongrel” in contact are qualities that separate good from nearly men at Test level.
Again, the question, at whose expense?
I remember one Duane Vermeulen producing weekly performances that screamed “pick me for the Boks” for four to five years. The Bok coaches who refused to pick him also asked, at whose expense? Now Vermeulen is the first name on every Bok Test pack list and he is consistently in the top two No 8s in international rugby.
The Stormers and Boks without Vermeulen are a weaker side, but for a World Cup cycle of four years, the selectors were convinced his services could be overlooked.
Kriel’s form reminds me of Vermeulen’s provincial and Super Rugby apprenticeship, because when Kriel does finally feel the comforting fit of a green-and-gold Test jersey the potential impact will be that of Vermeulen’s.
Meyer’s mutterings indicate he isn’t as convinced about the roaring Lion, but he will struggle to convince many that the Lion doesn’t warrant a challenge.
The Lions were damn good against the Stormers. They were enterprising, the equal of the SA Conference-winning hosts in every facet and on the scoreboard.
The two sides were tied 19all, but the Lions were centimetres away from winning the match and a first Super Rugby play-off spot yet.
Ultimately, the Lions this season have been closer to seven than six in the tournament’s top eight. That’s a success story for a franchise that had been a Super Rugby embarrassment.
Kriel, though, has been brilliant. Lions coach Johan Ackermann doesn’t easily say a player has the X factor. But when it comes to Kriel, the coach, a former Springbok lock, doesn’t question if, but when, he will play Test rugby. Form or history? In a World Cup year, so often history is favoured and an opportunity is lost. I fear this could happen with Kriel because form and winning carry momentum and weight into any competition; World Cup included.
Meyer is loyal and conservative with selections he believes to be the right ones. I’d urge the national coach to back form in the Rugby Championship to have a like-for-like comparison to players whose Test history makes a stronger case this season than any consistent form in Super Rugby. The Lions this season have been robust and more refined than raw. Kriel, though, has been the real deal. He was a year ago. He is even better now. What could he be in September?
Very good players make for a competitive Test team. X-factor players make for a World Cup-winning team.
Kriel threw down the gauntlet to Meyer at Newlands, just as his Lions teammates did to the Stormers. The Lions, as a team, didn’t lose but they didn’t win. Kriel’s return, in Meyer’s analysis, will hopefully be more rewarding.