David Kriel was so good in the 50-pointer against Zebre recently that Jake White said that he “obviously has to find a place” for the utility back in the Bulls side when the World Cup Springboks return.
That is set to happen either when the Pretoria outfit are back home next week to face Connacht, or the following Saturday against the Sharks, with the likes of Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie and flank Marco van Staden set to bolster the team ahead of the Champions Cup opener against Saracens early next month.
But considering Kriel’s excellent form, he may just continue in the No 12 jersey for the foreseeable future, especially as Harold Vorster is still sidelined with a foot injury.
Kriel was at it again in last week’s 18-12 United Rugby Championship triumph over Cardiff in Wales, as he pulled off a classy little chip over fullback Jacob Beetham, which was caught by a flying Embrose Papier to register the opening try in the 11th minute.
It is the kind of creative play that White and attack coach Chris Rossouw are encouraging this season.
But did the Springbok scrumhalf Papier buy Kriel a gift for that chip?
“No, he hasn’t yet,” the 24-year-old said from Scotland yesterday, ahead of Friday’s URC showdown with Edinburgh. Kick-off is at 9.35pm. “But luckily he was there to get it, so I would say the try that he scored was a gift enough for us, and for me personally.
“We’ve got the freedom to express ourselves, and we’ve got a lot of players with (the) X-factor, so the guys are very confident at the moment. We train a lot on our individual skill sets, and luckily it came off.
“I am very happy with 12, but any rugby player would play in any position. I enjoy my rugby at centre, whether it’s 12 or 13 – I feel like I am growing nicely in that position now.
“I enjoy 12 and 13, and I enjoyed 13 against the Scarlets, and also Ulster. I feel at home at centre, but I am also quite comfortable at 15, where I played growing up and through high school.
“Obviously, I’m not the biggest 12 out there, but reflecting on my game and strong points, maybe mine isn’t bashing over a guy, but using my feet better.”
The Bulls are on an upward trajectory after an opening tour defeat to Ulster, as they were too strong for Zebre in a 54-29 win in Parma, and then showed real tenacity in defence last week to ward off the Cardiff Blues.
Edinburgh, though, are a much tougher proposition, having won three of their four games and only losing to Leinster in Dublin.
They will be bolstered by internationals Ali Price (scrumhalf) and Jamie Ritchie (flank) this week, even though they are missing Test stars Darcy Graham and Hamish Watson. They also possess the powerful figure of South African-born wing Duhan van der Merwe in a formidable backline.
“A couple of the guys went to watch Edinburgh’s game against Connacht this past weekend. It wasn’t as wet as we thought it would be, but it was very cold and a very kick-dominated game,” Kriel said.
“A lot of contestables happened, so we are expecting a strong kicking game from them. But they’ve also got a couple of running threats, like Duhan van der Merwe and Wes Goosen.
“(Van der Merwe) is not like every other wing. He is strong and we’ve seen what he can do on the international stage.
“It’s about just making the defence guess what we have up our sleeves, and it’s working and it’s good to have that skill set under our belts. We have to be aggressive (on defence) and show our physicality, and play like a Bulls team. But also the kicking game, and not get bored by their kicking game and beat them at their strong points.”
IOL Sport