Kriel must be patient – Mitchell
The Springboks are set to announce their squad today that will face a World XV on July 11 in Cape Town.
Despite no South African teams making it into the semi-finals of the Super Rugby competition, a number of players have put their hands up for selection ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Out of the five national teams in the Southern Hemisphere showpiece, the Lions produced some of the most exciting rugby this year. A number of their players could well be in the Bok selection frame – none more so than flank Jaco Kriel.
He may not be the biggest opensider around, but Kriel has punched well above his weight this season and is a genuine prospect for the future.
Former All Blacks coach John Mitchell spoke to East Coast Radio earlier this week ahead of the Boks’ squad announcement.
Having coached the Lions himself, Mitchell has a good understanding of how far the Union has come. He tipped his hat to Kriel, but said the Lions player may well have to bide his time before he earns his first Bok cap.
“I think Heyneke will be pretty set in his ways, he’ll go for an experience squad while adding a few with the future in mind and potential injuries that he probably has more knowledge of than we do,” Mitchell said.
“For Kriel to put out Marcell Coetzee or Francois Louw, as good as he is, let’s not get carried away with Super Rugby. He hasn’t learned to play Test rugby yet and to put him into that fray right now would come with an element of risk.”
“I think his time will come and maybe the next four years will be the period when he wears the Springbok jersey. He’s got an enormous amount of skills and I always like my openside and number eight hunting together with my blindside being a far more patient footballer and a secondary runner.”
“Kriel covers a fair bit of ground and has a huge amount of repeat effort in him so I think it’s just a matter of time. But I’m not sure Heyneke will have the confidence to put him straight in.”
The Springboks announce their squad at 2 pm today.
(File Photo: Gallo Images) - Pictured: South Africa's Tyrone van Aswegen
Twitter - @gazza_jenks @ECRSportswave
Facebook - ECRSportswave