Latest news with #JesseKriel
The South African
5 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Rankings: Springboks' top spot coming under threat
Jesse Kriel and the Springboks in a huddle. Image: SA Rugby website The Springboks face Georgia this Saturday, but can't improve their rankings rating this weekend due to the 18.09-point gap between themselves and their 11th-ranked opponents before home advantage is factored in. This means that their cushion at the top could be cut to only 0.55 rating points over New Zealand if the All Blacks complete a series whitewash of France with a win by more than 15 points on Saturday. Last weekend, the All Blacks claimed a resounding 43-17 over a weakened France team, and so there is every expectation that another comfortable victory could be on the cards in Hamilton. Other permutations to note for this weekend's fixtures: If Georgia can create history and avoid defeat against South Africa for the first time then New Zealand need a smaller margin of victory to replace South Africa at the summit. The All Blacks have not been ranked number one in the world since November 2021. With Ireland not in action this weekend, France have an opportunity to improve on fourth place, although to leapfrog both Ireland and New Zealand they must beat the All Blacks by more than 15 points. If that happens, the All Blacks will find themselves down in fourth. England, in fifth, cannot improve their rating with victory over USA, given the 19.19 point difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in. The good news is that a defeat will not cost them a position, as Australia face the British and Irish Lions in the first test – which does not count towards the rankings – and Argentina cannot gain any points for beating Uruguay. Scotland can only gain a maximum of 0.20 rating points for beating Samoa at Eden Park, not enough to catch Los Pumas even if they are beaten by Uruguay. Even though Fiji and Italy above them are not in action, Georgia cannot enter the top 10 for the first time even if they beat South Africa by more than 15 points as they will be 0.08 rating points short. However, if Scotland lose then Fiji will climb one place to eighth. Samoa will gain one place if they beat Scotland, replacing Wales in 12th but cannot catch Georgia. Japan, who occupy 14th place, cannot be caught by any of their nearest rivals – Spain, USA and Uruguay – as they hold too big a cushion. 1 South Africa 92.78 2 New Zealand 91.72 3 Ireland 89.83 4 France 88.16 5 England 87.64 6 Australia 82.08 7 Argentina 82.05 8 Scotland 81.37 9 Fiji 80.50 10 Italy 77.77 Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
07-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Boks must tighten leaky defence, warns Kriel
The Springboks must work on tightening up a leaky defence before they face a passionate young Italian side who will be hunting for an upset win in Gqeberha on Saturday, stand-in skipper Jesse Kriel has warned. Though South Africa won the opening Test 42-24 against the Azzurri in Mbombela, Kriel says the Boks must fix key aspects of their game ahead of a rematch at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (5.10pm). The Italians, ranked a lowly 10th in the world, came out swinging against the world champions with a tenacious second-half display that gave the Boks plenty of food for thought ahead of the Bay clash. When SA raced into a 28-3 halftime lead at Loftus, the home fans expected the floodgates to open in the second period. Italy, however, had other ideas and fought like warriors to hold the star-studded Boks at bay. We've missed Damian Willemse in a Bok jersey 🇿🇦✨ 📺 Stream #RSAvITA on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 5, 2025 'There's a lot of things for us to work on ahead of the Test in Gqeberha,' Kriel said. 'We drive extremely high standards in the squad. 'The whole rugby world were writing them off and we certainly weren't. We know the Italians are an extremely passionate nation and they pitched up at Loftus and were very energetic. 'That energy showed in their play and we didn't get exactly what we wanted with the quick ball on attack. 'In defence, we are not happy with the three tries against us. In the second half, they defended like their lives depended on it. 'So we are happy with the win but a big Test match awaits us at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.' Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk said there would be disappointment in their squad regarding their showing in Tshwane. 'There was a lot of good stuff and bad things we can work on,' he said. 'Credit to Italy, they really made it hard for us, especially at the breakdown. 'We couldn't get that momentum going. I thought their forwards were phenomenal. That is definitely something we must look into in the week and make sure we fix it before the next Test.' Bok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, who scored two tries, said his team could have delivered a much stronger display. 'It was special to be named man of the match and to score my first Test try, but for me, the most important thing is always to serve the team to the best of my ability,' he said. 'We know we could have performed much better on the day, though we always expected it to be an arm wrestle, especially if one looks at some of Italy's results in the last two seasons and the way they started the Six Nations. Bok coach Erasmus hints at changes for second Test against Italy Azzurri 'manned up in most departments — scrums, mauling, defence, attack. It was a proper Test match' Sport 1 day ago 'That said, it was exactly the match we needed to measure where we are compared to where we want to and need to be, so we took valuable lessons from the game. 'Everyone now knows what Italy can do, and I don't think the public will underestimate them again this week. 'But at the same time, we also know we were off the pace and that we need a massive step-up in all areas of our game. 'We let ourselves down, and leaked three tries, which is not good enough, so we will go back to the drawing board and do everything we can to rectify the areas we need to improve on. 'Italy and our next opponent, Georgia, are both physical and passionate teams, and it is vital for us to get back on track.' The Boks are expected to name their side on Tuesday.
The Herald
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Boks must tighten leaky defence, warns Kriel
The Springboks must work on tightening up a leaky defence before they face a passionate young Italian side who will be hunting for an upset win in Gqeberha on Saturday, stand-in skipper Jesse Kriel has warned. Though SA won the opening Test 42-24 against the Azzurri, Kriel says the Boks must fix key aspects of their game ahead of a rematch at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kickoff 5.10pm). The Italians, ranked a lowly 10th in the world, came out swinging against the world champions with a tenacious second-half display that gave the Boks plenty of food for thought ahead of the Bay clash. When the Boks raced into a 28-3 halftime lead at Loftus, SA supporters expected the floodgates to open in the second period. Italy, however, had other ideas and fought like warriors to hold the star-studded Boks at bay in the opening Test of a double-header. 'There's a lot of things for us to work on ahead of the Test in Gqeberha,' Kriel said. 'We drive extremely high standards in the squad. The whole rugby world were writing them off and we certainly weren't. 'We know the Italians are an extremely passionate nation and they pitched up at Loftus and were very energetic. 'That energy showed up in their play and we didn't get exactly what we wanted with the quick ball on attack. 'In defence, we are not happy with the three tries against us. 'In the second half, they defended like their lives depended on it. 'So we are happy with the win but a big Test match awaits us at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.' Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk said there would be disappointment in the SA squad regarding their showing in Tshwane. 'There was a lot of good stuff and bad things we can work on,' he said. 'Credit to Italy, they really made it hard for us, especially at the breakdown. 'We couldn't get that momentum going. 'I thought their forwards were phenomenal. That is definitely something we must look into in the week and make sure we fix it before the next Test.' Bok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg , who scored two tries, said his team could have delivered a much stronger display. 'It was special to be named man of the match and to score my first Test try, but for me, the most important thing is always to serve the team to the best of my ability,' he said. 'We know we could have performed much better on the day, though we always expected it to be an arm wrestle, especially if one looks at some of Italy's results in the last two seasons and the way they started the Six Nations. 'That said, it was exactly the match we needed to measure where we are compared to where we want to and need to be, so we took valuable lessons from the game. 'Everyone now knows what Italy can do, and I don't think the public will underestimate them again this week. 'But at the same time, we also know we were off the pace and that we need a massive step-up in all areas of our game. 'We let ourselves down, and leaked three tries, which is not good enough, so we will go back to the drawing board and do everything we can to rectify the areas we need to improve on. 'Italy and our next opponent, Georgia, are both physical and passionate teams, and it is vital for us to get back on track.' The Boks are expected to name their side on Tuesday, and Bok coach Rassie Erasmus says it will be a team that goes the full distance. 'We have to make sure the team we are going to pick this week is not just a team that can go 50 or 60 minutes, but it must be a team that can go for 80 minutes.' The Herald
The South African
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
When will Springboks name new-look team for Italy rematch?
When the Springboks conduct their post-match review from the first Test against Italy, there will undoubtedly be some stern examinations of certain shortcomings despite a comfortable victory. Rassie Erasmus will know that perspective is just as important as expectation at the start of a Test season when the Springboks are just getting their wheels in motion, but he has already made it clear that there will be a change in thinking when it comes to selection. 'Internally we've announced that 13, 14 players that will definitely get a run next week, and that we'd build the bench or starting line-up around those guys,' he said. 'We won't discard those guys but some of them might move to the bench, some of the real standout players who played today might start again.' The Springbok team for the second Test against at Italy this weekend will be named on Tuesday at 15:00. The teams will meet again at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha this weekend before the Springboks wrap up their July campaign against Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit a week later on 19 July. 'We let ourselves down at the breakdown a bit,' Springbok captain Jesse Kriel commented. 'I thought they slowed our ball down pretty well. We obviously wanted to attack off quick ball there, but we couldn't get that at stages in the game. 'But we're looking forward to the Test match this week. I think it's set up nicely and lots of work for us to do before then.' WHAT TEAM CHANGES WOULD YOU MAKE? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The South African
Jesse Kriel does it again with another gwijo song!
Jesse Kriel has done it again with another entertaining performance of a gwijo song, as sung with Siya Kolisi. Over the weekend, the rugby star stepped into Siya's shoes once again to lead the Boks against the battle with Italy in Loftus. The South African rugby squad beat their opponents 42-24. In a clip posted on TikTok, Siya Kolisi shared a playful look at Jesse Kriel singing another gwijo song. Jesse is fluent in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa. A recent viral video also revealed that Springbok can speak Japanese! @siyakolisi Tshawe 🙌🏾🇿🇦 #sportsontiktok #rugby #springboks #gwijo #siyakolisi ♬ original sound – Siya Kolisi Over the weekend, Jesse Kriel became South Africa's 67th test game captain. The special event marked 30 years since the Springboks beat the All Blacks in Loftus at the Rugby World Cup final. The nod to the number 67 comes as SA will dedicate 67 minutes in memory of the late Nelson Mandela on his birthday, which is celebrated on 18 July. Madiba, as he was affectionately known, was present at the historic and emotional game back in 1995. ARE YOU A FAN OF JESSE KRIEL? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
