Ken Borland

Jesse Kriel has been in hot form for the Springboks ever since stepping back into the starting line-up at last year’s World Cup and the 30-year-old says the resurgence in his fortunes is no accident, it is down to plenty of hard work through the years.

The outside centre position for the Springboks has been fiercely contested by Lukhanyo Am and Kriel, two world-class No.13s. When Kriel came off the bench and was injured in the opening match of the 2019 World Cup, it opened the door for Am to make the position his own.

But ironically, last year the situation was reversed as Am was injured at the World Cup and Kriel stepped up in spectacular fashion. He has continued that strong form this year, shining in the Tests against Wales and Ireland. And the second Test against Ireland in Durban on Saturday saw the former Bulls star partner Damian de Allende in midfield for the 30^th time, making them South Africa’s most-capped centre combination, beating the old mark set by the great pairing of Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.

“The rugby I’m playing at the moment is definitely right up there with the best of my career. But a great World Cup doesn’t just happen, it takes continual work, year after year,” Kriel says.

“It helped that I was given the opportunity to play more and playing in Japan has built my confidence, allowed me to tweak my game. In Japan I regularly have up to 80 touches of the ball in a game, so being that involved is familiar to me. Japan has also taught me to be open to other ideas from players and coaches.”

Kriel’s livewire displays this year have come in a backline that also seems to have discovered a fresh spring in their collective step, attacking with greater width and ambition than previously.

“I think it just shows how good Tony Brown has been coming in as attack coach,” Kriel says. “He has really changed our mindset on attack. In previous Tests you would never see us doing offloads and chicken wings, but now we have drills, we actually practise those skills.

“Tony just has a very positive way of seeing rugby and he’s got the whole side excited about attack now and getting the ball in their hands. If we want to become a better team, then we can’t just carry on doing the same things, we’ve got to keep changing things up, those are those marginal gains that are so crucial.

“I think we’re just a handful of games away from nailing it. Every training session is better than the last, our players have awesome skill-sets and we are starting to see that now. Damian definitely has the best pass in the team and he has an unbelievable rugby brain. But we’re also seeing the big guys using their hands, like Eben Etzebeth popping the ball out the back, along with typical South African physicality. We’re playing really smart rugby,” Kriel says.

While De Villiers did send a congratulatory message to Kriel’s phone, the Canon Eagles player also had kind words for his partner De Allende.

“Damian and I have been off-field mates since around 2019. It’s very nice to share this record with him because he’s a special player. We’ve got to know each other in a deeper way, I see his character and he’s one of the first people I would take to war with me. When the going gets tough, he always puts up his hand,” Kriel says.

While the slick handling and searing breaks are the sexy things that get noticed on the field, it is Kriel’s work ethic in training and conditioning that lays the platform for his success. He is magnificently conditioned and trains with heavyweight boxer Kevin Lerena.

“Kevin is a good friend and we have a similar mindset in how we approach sport. I like cross-training in general, it keeps me stimulated. So I’ll run along the beachfront promenade or go mountain biking as well. It’s a good way to challenge yourself mentally in a different way.

“Playing in Japan also has a big part in my conditioning, having such high ball-in-play times helps both on attack and defence. It’s not as physical as Test rugby, but it is such a competitive league and there are so many former All Blacks, Fijians and Tongans playing,” Kriel says.

The 6’1 star is in such good nick that he says he would like to play in two more World Cups, extending his career another eight years to when he is 38. One should not bet against Kriel pulling that off.

One of the great characteristics of rugby is how quickly a team’s fortunes can turn around and the Sharks have gone, in the space of a month, from being a beleaguered team on the defensive to hot property that looks capable of challenging for silverware.

At the beginning of December, the Sharks had just axed coach Sean Everitt and were retreating into a laager as director of rugby Neil Powell tried to fend off questions about the decision and even refused to talk about Siya Kolisi apparently being injured.

But they have started January with a thumping over the Bulls, their nemeses for the last couple of years, and they have charged up into the top five of the United Rugby Championship log, with games in hand on everyone above them, as well as winning their opening two Champions Cup matches.

The strong run has coincided with Kolisi finding the sort of rampaging form that he regularly brings to the Springboks, and Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Makazole Mapimpi have also lived up to their billing as world-class internationals.

The amount of power the Sharks have when at full-strength is enough to make electricians beam with joy and Bulls coach Jake White pinpointed this as the key factor when his side was overwhelmed at Kings Park at the weekend.

But the Sharks’ biggest challenge might well be coming up. Because of the hectic schedule involving two European competitions, Powell is going to have to unplug and recharge some of those Springboks due to their workloads. Can the Sharks still maintain a push for at least one title after shedding their star players?

They have two crucial matches coming up against the Stormers in February and March, and those thrilling encounters will go a long way to deciding who wins the South African Shield in the URC.

It has also been wonderful to see the reception the Sharks’ resurgence has received from their supporters, with especially large crowds at Kings Park over the last two weekends, with around 50 000 spectators in total over the two matches against the Lions and Bulls over the festive season.

An Ulster team featuring the services of Duane Vermeulen, who played a key role in the revival of fortunes at Loftus Versfeld, will come to Pretoria and play Test match rugby on Saturday, according to Bulls coach Jake White.

Ulster are currently second in the United Rugby Championship and will be looking to grind out a win in the heat and altitude of Loftus Versfeld, where the Bulls have been formidable in winning their last three games.

“Ulster are all singing the praises for what Duane has added to their game and brought to their pack. But we know well how good he is,” White said on Friday.

“But we can’t focus on individuals and we need to all play well collectively, working together as a unit. There’s been a massive improvement in that as the weeks have gone on.

“Ulster will play similar to a Test match style, they maul and carry well, they have big forwards. And their defence is very strong too.

“It’s going to be a great challenge for us. They are second for a reason: they are organised and they have good players, playing a style that suits them. It’s going to be nice to see where we are against a team that has done very well,” White said.

Apart from the importance of the encounter, Ulster are expected to also be fired up over what they have classified as an injustice in their previous game, when they went down 20-23 to the Stormers with a late try controversially disallowed.

“It’s going to be a big game because Ulster are disappointed to lose last weekend against the Stormers and they will give everything,” White said.

The Bulls will be without scrumhalf Embrose Papier, one of the main success stories in last weekend’s win over the Dragons, because he is still going through the concussion protocols.

They will continue to back Chris Smith as the starting flyhalf, with what White described as “the luxury of having all Morne Steyn’s experience to come off the bench”.

And even though Saturday’s encounter is looking to be a tight one, White was hopeful that fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse could be a not-so-secret weapon for them on attack.

“We’re hoping we can use him differently when we’ve got the ball, try bring him into the game and not just wait for Ulster to give him the ball.

“As we’ve seen, he’s very difficult to stop when he’s on-song,” White said.

Bulls team:Kurt-Lee Arendse,Canan Moodie,Cornal Hendricks,Harold Vorster,Madosh Tambwe,Chris Smith,Zak Burger;Elrigh Louw,Cyle Brink,Marcell Coetzee (CAPT),Ruan Nortje,Walt Steenkamp,Mornay Smith,Johan Grobbelaar,Gerhard Steenekamp. IMPACT – Joe van Zyl,Simphiwe Matanzima,Robert Hunt,Reinhardt Ludwig,Arno Botha;Keagan Johannes,Morne Steyn,Lionel Mapoe.

South African captain Keenan Horne is looking forward to his team putting aside the mixed fortunes they have had against top opposition and performing with more consistency against them in the FIH Hockey Pro League that gets underway in Potchefstroom from Tuesday.

The home side are missing a couple of key players as they take on the Netherlands, India, France and Germany in the South African leg of the league this month. The Dutch, the Indians and the Germans are all powerhouses of the game, although they have come to Potchefstroom with some new players as they begin preparations for the World Cup in a year’s time.

South Africa were 3-0 up against the Netherlands in last year’s Olympic Games, before losing 5-3, but they did pull off a famous 4-3 win over Germany, who were winners by the same scoreline in their previous meeting, which followed 6-2 and 6-1 wins in the two Tests before that.

India have beaten South Africa 5-1 and 5-0 in their last two engagements.

“Even if our primary aim is to grow the team, as a competitive player you always want to win,” Horne said on Monday. “We don’t always get the chance to play against teams in the top-eight and it’s usually in tough tournament conditions.

“So it is always great to get one of their scalps and we know we are able to do it. But we really need to build our consistency, what we really want is to be able to compete in every single game,” Horne said.

While South Africa will have home-ground advantage – Potchefstroom bringing heat and high-altitude into the equation – Horne said their opponents have shown the ability to adapt to different conditions.

“We’re coming up against really top teams who tour all around the world. So they play in all sorts of conditions and they are used to adjusting.

“But the altitude and heat will not be as difficult for us, so if it is an advantage we will take whatever we can get,” Horne said.

South Africa have certainly shown the ability to score goals – notching 11 in their three matches against Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands at the Olympics – but coach Garreth Ewing said they have to shore up their defence in the Pro League. Especially since they have a tough opening fixture against the Dutch at 8pm on Tuesday.

“The Netherlands are very skilful and gifted all around the field and it’s going to be a challenge for our defence. That’s our first focus, trying to get that right,” Ewing said.