Kriel’s success years in the making
Apart from keeping his body battle ready, the Bok centre has had to steel himself mentally over time
● His burgeoning presence in the Springbok squad is no coincidence, insists Jesse Kriel.
The Bok centre has carefully carved a career over many years, often drawing inspiration from the “when the going gets tough ...” mantra.
“It is not like it just happened. It’s years and years of continual work. Then you get an opportunity and you play a bit more,” Kriel said about his surge in form and resultant rise in stock in the Bok jersey.
Kriel, in every sense, has found his voice. Taciturn at the start of his international career, the centre has been capped 71 times, and plays and speaks with authority.
A hulking frame helps get the message across.
There are now more layers to his game. Kriel has featured in 11 of the Springboks’ last 13 Tests and in that time has arguably been their most consistent performer. Maintaining fitness and building a body that can stand up
to the rigours of the modern game is part of the Kriel story.
Addressing the media with the Indian Ocean gently caressing the shore nearby, he said it wasn’t just doing curls that got him ripped. “He’s a good friend, and I suppose we share a similar mindset with how we approach our sport,” said Kriel about South African boxing champion Kevin Lerena. “I just like doing cross training in general.”
Kriel has always been devoted to his training. At Maritzburg College he would sneak into the gym and train under the cover of darkness. “Japan has played a big part in my conditioning. They’ve got so much ball in play over there. You are getting so many touches on the ball,” he said about his time with the Canon Eagles.
That helps explain why he has emerged as a go-to ball carrier since attack coach Tony Brown joined the Boks.
Though Kriel just about mirrored the average age of the Bok starting team in yesterday’s Test against Ireland, the player harbours no concern about his potential state of readiness for the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
In fact, he believes he’s got two more in him. “I think another eight years,” said the 30-year-old.
“I want to play as long as I can. The older I’ve got, the better my body has felt. You start to understand your body better. And then I’m lucky to have a guy like Andy Edwards who heads up our conditioning. When I’m in Japan, I basically chat to him every day.”
Kriel was quick to defend the standard of the Japan Rugby League One, which some believe to be a league for easy bucks. “It is a bit of a fallacy. Obviously it is not as physical as Test rugby, but it is extremely physical over there,” said Kriel, who pointed to the proliferation of All Blacks in the league.
Apart from keeping his body battle ready, Kriel over the years has had to steel himself mentally.
He is hard-baked in adversity. The Springboks lost to the All Blacks, Wallabies, Los Pumas and Japan in his first five Tests. There have also been personal setbacks. “I built a lot of mental resilience,” said Kriel.
An early exit from the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC) due to injury tested his resolve. He has bounced back with commanding performances over the last year. This time, untimely injury befell Lukhanyo Am and it was Kriel who got a RWC medal in Paris last year. He has cemented his place in the team next to Damian de Allende. The duo yesterday becoming the most-capped (30) Bok centre pairing. “We’ve been mates since I was 19, 20,” said Kriel.
“We have come through tough periods in Springbok rugby. But we’ve also enjoyed a lot of success. I think you get to know someone a bit better when you go through those tough times. He’s one of the first guys I’d take to war. He’s a guy that will always be there and put up his hand when it gets tough.”
Kriel sees himself returning to South Africa in two years as he wants to put himself in the best position to play at the next RWC. “That is what drives me and gets me up in the morning.”