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'Scotland were the toughest to play at RWC' - Springbok Jesse Kriel
By Grant Constable
Back in South Africa for a few weeks due to a thumb injury sustained in Japan, Springbok centre Jesse Kriel has provided some fascinating insight on life abroad, mastering the rush defence, and who the toughest team was to face at Rugby World Cup 2023.
Chatting for former Bok teammates about defence on the latest episode of RugbyPass TV's Boks Office, the double world cup winning centre sprung a surprise when asked who was the tougher team to face between Ireland and England.
"Defensively, I think the toughest game was probably Scotland. Obviously a guy like Finn Russell, you never know what he's going to do. They try to play a lot of rugby.
"Ireland was also right up there. They're an unbelievable team.
"I think England [in the semi final] was more attritional, obviously it was raining there so there wasn't a lot of ball movement.
"All three games were extremely tough but I think if you're talking defensively wise and making decisions, Scotland and Ireland were right up there and you really had to be on your game."
Speaking on the famed rush defence, Kriel was candid about how things work in the Springbok team.
"You always know, you are going to f*ck some things.. you going to make some bad reads. You're going to make mistakes. Understanding that, and also knowing that you've got 14 other guys that are busting their arse off, so, it's never "Jesse made a mistake", because I know Pieter-Steph [du Toit] is flying half way across the field, chasing a paper packet to get some other oke.
"You know some oke's [guy] going to bail you out, and then you're going to bail him out at a later stage. It's a really cool system and environment to be in, because you always know oke's are working hard for you and you're working hard for them.
"You've got the coaches telling you, 'Listen, make decisions, we want you to be bold'. You're not going to win a world cup being tame and sitting in your shell."
Having said that, he did pick England to beat Scotland at Murrayfield in the Six Nations this coming weekend.
You can watch the full episode of Boks Office exclusively on RugbyPass TV now.
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Latest Comments
You have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
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