Ask someone a difficult question, why don’t you. It happened this week in an online press conference, when Damian de Allende was effectively asked to assess the merits of the two centre partners he has played most of his Springbok rugby with - Lukhanyo Am and Jesse Kriel.
If he does have a preference, of course he’d never say it. But in fudging the answer into something diplomatic and appropriate he said what many would probably agree with: They are the top two outside centres in the world.
“I don’t know who between them is No 1 and No 2 in the world, but I don’t mind who I play with,” said De Allende in the buildup to a Castle Lager Rugby Championship meeting with Australia in Brisbane on Saturday that will increase the record he and Kriel share as the centre combination that has played together the most for the Boks.
“They could both be No 1. I think they are the best in the world. And I am just privileged to play next to them. I am just glad they are on my outside, whether Jesse or Lukhanyo.”
🗣️ "I think they the best 13s in the world."
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 6, 2024
Whether it's Jesse Kriel or Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende is just happy to have two world class players to play alongside 🤝 pic.twitter.com/TzzyEXQJwp
De Allende enjoyed watching his erstwhile 2019 World Cup winning partner Am from the sidelines in the recent match against Portugal, a game where the Sharks player reminded us of his abilities.
“For Lukhanyo it’s been a rough couple of seasons with weird injuries and some niggles. It’s been unfortunate but it was lovely to see him play against Portugal. He covered 12 and 13 in that game (because of the early red card to Andre Esterhuizen) and that was impressive.”
It has indeed been a rough couple of seasons for Am, who effectively missed out on participation in last year’s World Cup because of injury. He did join the squad before the end of the tournament in France, but he didn’t get to play.
KRIEL HAD SOME ROUGH TIMES
Rough though is possibly the best word to describe what came for Kriel before that. Indeed, there have been many times in recent and not so recent years where the product of Maritzburg College looked like being one of those nearly men, a perennial hard luck story.
Lest it has been forgotten, although he featured prominently in Chasing the Sun 1, the docuseries on the first of two successive World Cup triumphs in Japan in 2019, Kriel wasn’t there for most of the tournament. Along with Trevor Nyakane, injury forced him to fly home early.
And it wasn’t always plain sailing for him before that either, as it wasn’t for many of the players who have seen their Bok careers span the past decade. Kriel was reminded during an interview in Umhlanga Rocks a few days before the second test against Ireland, where he and De Allende laid sole claim to the Bok midfield record by overtaking Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie, of one of his earliest appearances in the national jersey at Kings Park.
It was in 2015 in a Rugby Championship game against Argentina. De Villiers, the captain, was coming back from a long injury layoff and was pressed into service at outside centre, and as a result Kriel found himself on the wing on a day when his opposite number Juan Imhoff ran in a hat-trick of tries in a crushing 37-25 win for Argentina.
“Jeepers, how could I forget that day, it was a dark day for all of us in the team,” said Kriel.
PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT HEYNEKE WAS REFERRING TO
Darker days were to follow, such as the two massive 50 pointers conceded to New Zealand in the two years of Allister Coetzee’s coaching stint that followed. And then a series of events, including untimely injuries, saw Am usurp him as the first choice Bok centre during a time when admittedly the Bok game was more geared towards Kriel’s defensive strengths than the attacking skills that earned him the man of the match award in the opening test against Ireland in Pretoria.
For a time it looked like Kriel was destined to be the permanent backup to the star of the 2019 World Cup final and play forever in his shadow. But not anymore, and it is because Kriel is an example of something that was often said by the Bok coach in that awful 2015 clash with the Pumas, Heyneke Meyer.
“When you rub coal together you get diamonds,” said Meyer in reference to the impact experiencing pressure could have on players.
There is no way you can liken Kriel to coal. From the moment he hit the local first class rugby firmament as a fullback for the Vodacom Bulls it was clear that Kriel was a potential diamond in the making. It just so happens though that he is a player with an extraordinary work ethic and the determination that ensured that he navigated the bumps in the road with enough style to now be confirming his undoubted class.
The game against Ireland in Pretoria last month where he revelled in the ball handling opportunities offered thanks to the more all-embracing game-plan ushered in by new attack coach Tony Brown was not the moment Kriel confirmed his world class. That came in the World Cup in France, where he was arguably the best outside centre at the tournament and a definite candidate to be the Boks’ MVP.
“Yes, I had a great World Cup,” says Kriel, “but it did not just happen.”
“It took years of working on my game than getting more game opportunities, and that is how you build confidence. It did not just happen. Jean (de Villiers) did send a message congratulating me for breaking his record. I played with him a bit and he helped me a lot when I started. The tough periods made us better, my mental resilience improved. You have to toughen up to the criticism.”
When former All Black player and Japan assistant coach Brown joined up with the Boks, Kriel’s work ethic and conditioning was something he was so highly impressed with that he spoke about it at one of his first press conference appearances.
BOXING FITNESS
Kriel credits the influence of his good friend, the champion boxer Kevin Lerena, for his billboard quality physique. He is a man who doesn’t appear to have an ounce of fat, and it is translated into high energy on the field output.
“Kevin is a good friend and we share a similar mindset to training. Boxing fitness is next level but I also like cross-training in general, whether running down the Umhlanga promenade or mountain biking,” said the 30-year-old.
Jesse Kriel's numbers in the gym are crazy 💪🏋️♀️ pic.twitter.com/BgXmnLc8uL
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 28, 2024
His years in Japan have also helped Kriel’s conditioning and work rate, and the style of rugby he is used to there means he is tailor-made for what is expected of him in the Bok No 13 jersey in the new dynamic introduced to the team’s approach by Brown’s input.
“The ball is in play so much more in Japan, you get so many more touches of the ball, and that develops your skills both on attack and defence. The game in Japan is not as physical but you play far more games and it is not as soft as some might think because you have half of Fiji and Tonga and many Kiwis playing in Japan.
“In the first game against Ireland I had much more touches of the ball than I have been used to playing for the Boks, but it was in line with what I was used to from Japan. There I get between 15 and 18 touches a game.”
EFFUSIVE ABOUT BROWN’S INPUT
It almost goes without saying that Kriel is effusive about the influence Brown is having on the Bok game evolution.
“It is hard for me to adequately explain how good Tony has been with his mindset around attack,” he says.
“Last year you would never have seen us offloading in tests. He has us doing drills in training to hone that skill. He has solutions for every situation. He has a very positive way of seeing how rugby should be played.
“Tony has the whole squad excited about attacking, it means a different vibe and players are excited to get the ball in their hands — you're seeing big guys like Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit offloading like backs.”
While some have seen enough of a departure from what the Boks used to consider their staple approach, Kriel considers the changes being driven by Brown under the watch of head coach Rassie Erasmus as a non-negotiable if the Boks want to go ahead of the chasing pack and stay there.
“If we want to improve we can’t just keep doing the same things. Look at Formula 1, they are always looking for marginal gains. It is dangerous to get comfortable with winning, you have to get comfortable with getting better.”
“We are a handful of games away from getting it right. The guys have such awesome skill sets. For example, Damian (de Allende) has the best pass in the Bok side, he has an excellent rugby brain and it is awesome to see him coming alive and using those strengths of his.”
That doesn’t mean though that the Boks have to eschew what has brought them two successive World Cup titles.
“We as the Boks can have the best of both worlds. We have our famous physicality but we can also play smarter and use our athletes out wide,” said Kriel.
WANTS TO EMULATE TENNIS CHAMP DJOKOVIC
As much as he is like a diamond cut from the coal of a more difficult time for the South African national team, Kriel is also like a fine wine that is maturing. And those who see his value to the Boks will be pleased that although he has now entered his fourth decade of life, he has no intention of heading into retirement. In fact, when he was asked if the next World Cup was his goal, he gave a surprising answer.
I am hoping to play for another eight years. I have just turned 30 and I don’t see that as old. I want to play as long as I can, the older I get the fitter I seem to get. Perhaps that is because you understand what works better and what doesn’t. You get to know your body better,” he said.
I feel my body is getting stronger. Longevity, look at tennis players such as Novak Djokovic.
Sports Science has improved and it helps you, it helps your longevity. But you have to have an open mind to what science can do for you. If it can make you play better on the weekend, if it makes your career go on for longer, then you must do it.”
Perhaps playing in Japan, something he has been doing now since 2019, has helped extend Kriel’s career. He certainly reckons the focus he was able to place on getting better as a player in a place where there are few distractions has helped him rather than hindered him.
“The key thing about playing there is that you get zoned in on rugby because you have far fewer distractions, like family and friends. So you focus on improving your game.”
WANTS TO BRING HIS VALUE TO A LOCAL FRANCHISE
But Kriel doesn’t want to play in Japan beyond the next two seasons, and considering he calls Umhlanga Rocks home, perhaps in a few years we will finally see him representing the Sharks, which is where his representative rugby journey started at age-group level in 2012. He was soon contracted to the Bulls, who he played for until 2019, so he never got to play for senior rugby for his home province - although he was born in Cape Town, which could also be a good destination for him given the Stormers’ playing style, his formative and school years were all spent in Pietermaritzburg.
Regardless of where he ends up though, his heart is set on coming home, and given his work ethic and passion for the game, there’s no reason he shouldn’t emulate the aforementioned Djokovic, who this week won the tennis Olympic gold at the age of 37, by continuing to bring value until the age of 38.
SATURDAY IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED FOR HIM
As it turns out, on Saturday he will be playing his 72nd game for his country in the city where it all started for him at test level. It was in Brisbane in 2015 that he made his debut, scoring a try in what was ultimately a losing cause (a late Tevita Kuridrani try secured a 24-20 Australia victory).
Kriel, then just 21, certainly announced his arrival in fine style in that game, with the UK rugby scribe Bernard Gallagher being one of several who tweeted glowing praise: “The word on the street from South Africa is that Jesse Kriel is going to be a legend. That was certainly a pretty decent first test try.”
Another overseas scribe tweeted that “South Africa have finally found their outside centre”. Nine years on no-one would quibble with that, only there have been a lot of bridges for Kriel to cross in the interim. And the Boks actually have two world class players in the position, plus of course one at No 12, with De Allende, who was alongside Kriel in many of those early games, certainly making a handsome contribution to the careers of both Am and Kriel.
And seeing we gave the first word on Kriel to De Allende, perhaps it is fitting that the final word should be from Kriel on De Allende: “We have come through some tough times for the Boks and then enjoyed great success. You see the character of your teammates when you have to go through thick and thin and Damian is the first person I would choose to go to war with.”