Cape Town - One of the few positives from the Bulls’ 31-17 loss to Munster last week was the impact David Kriel made as a second-half replacement, and he is keen to replicate that in Friday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Benetton in Treviso (6.30pm SA time kick-off).
The 23-year-old utility back started off his senior Pretoria career as a fullback, and has featured at outside centre and wing.
But now it seems as if he has found the sweet spot at inside centre, where he also started in the 35-21 loss to Glasgow recently.
He scored a try and created another in an impressive cameo against Munster in Limerick, and is excited about getting his hands on the ball against Benetton.
“The adaptation to 12 is really an exciting one for me – it’s very different to being an outside back. You are more involved in the game, and I basically see it as a second general after the 10 – organising and directing the forwards,” Kriel said from Treviso yesterday.
“It’s been a really enjoyable transition for me, and hopefully I can get a couple more opportunities to grow into that position.
“Last week, I just went onto the pitch wanting to bring a spark, wanting to do something to get a spark (going) in the team. Being in the position that we were, I felt that we needed that spark. I just wanted to go out and do my job, and benefit the team in that manner.
“It’s about the amount of times you are involved in the game: whether it’s attack or defence. If you compare it to wing or fullback, a 12 is in the centre of the park – next to the 10, next to the flankers. On defence, you are involved a hell of a lot more than on the edges. The decisions you make on attack is what intrigues me – just to build around the shape of the team, and basically, just involvement. You don’t have to wait for the ball to come to your side – you are in a position where the ball comes to you (all the time).”
The Bulls lost badly to Benetton the last time they visited the Stadio Monigo for the 2021 Rainbow Cup final, and they would want to avoid a third consecutive URC defeat on Friday.
“It’s quite difficult to adapt to a whole seasonal change – we know how hot and dry it was in South Africa, compared to Glasgow, where it was raining the whole week. It was wet, it was cold, and likewise in Limerick,” Kriel said.
“It’s about the ability to adapt to those conditions, but it’s still no excuse. Being at the level we are, we have to be able to adapt to that and play the same brand of rugby that we play in (home) games.
“We are a much better team than what we’ve shown over the past two weeks. There are scars on the group about how our tour has been going. I think that is enough motivation to just get back onto the horse and show what we are capable of.”
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