Jesse Kriel has made a surprising revelation about who the toughest team was for the Springboks to face in their World Cup title defence in 2023.
The Springboks endured a challenging run through the pool stages and playoffs – arguably tougher than their 2019 campaign – to successfully retain their status as world champions in France.
Pool stage games against then top-ranked Ireland and an exciting Scotland were followed by a quarter-final against the tournament hosts in Paris, a semi-final against a dogged England team and final against South Africa’s rivals the All Blacks.
Famously, the Springboks progressed through the playoffs with three successive one point wins to become the first team to win the World Cup four times.
Chatting for former Bok teammates about defence on the latest episode of RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office, Kriel provided a surprise answer when asked about who was the tougher team to face between Ireland and England.
“Defensively, I think the toughest game was probably Scotland,” Kriel said. “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.”
Kriel also opened up on the Springboks’ rush defence and why it worked so well during the World Cup.
“You always know, you are going to f*ck some things.. you going to make some bad reads. You’re going to make mistakes,” he said.
“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.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter