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Jesse praises Aussies but admits own culpability in Bok nightmare

rugby18 August 2025 09:00| © SuperSport
By:Gavin Rich
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Even great teams have to go through harrowing moments that turn into learning experiences sometime and Jesse Kriel sounded convinced after the Springbok loss to the Wallabies that would be the case, but like the good leader he did not duck taking responsibility.

The Boks, after leading 22-0 and then 22-5 at halftime collapsed in the second half as the Wallabies proved brilliantly clinically adept at seizing every opportunity offered by any South African mistake to end the game with 38 unanswered points in a 38-22 drought breaking win at the Emirates Airlines Park.

As Kriel pointed out, the Australians did deserve plenty of credit for the way they played.

“We were happy with how it started but the second half didn’t go as planned obviously and credit must go to Australia for the way they played,” said Kriel.

“You have to give them credit for the way they turned our mistakes into tries. I think they scored off almost every turnover opportunity they were presented with. Australia were really good tonight and no-one must take credit away from them.

"They were energetic and they had a great second half. It was one of the best second halves I have seen them play. They had a great plan, they have a good coach and great players.”

CONSPIRED AGAINST THEMSELVES

But while he was genuine in praising the Aussies for their excellent win, Kriel also knows that he and his teammates conspired against themselves with incredibly poor game management.

Such as when they suddenly eschewed the kick attack that had worked for them in the early parts, and then later on, with a lead of 10 points and 20 minutes to go, they played as if they were chasing the game rather than leading and gave away the intercept try that effectively put the Wallabies on the path to victory.

While many fans and critics will be blaming flyhalf Manie Libbok and even his halfback partner Grant Williams for the departure from the contestable kicking game that gave the Boks close to perfection in winning the early aerial battle, Kriel preferred to take the blame for it squarely on his own chin.

Kriel led the Boks in the first two games of the season and felt that he should have exerted more influence on what was happening.

“I am one of most experienced players and maybe I could have handled things better, maybe I could have ensured we brought more control to our game,” he said.

“In that time you are talking about we should have played it differently and maybe as a leader in the team I should have ensured we did that. It is never down to just the guys kicking the ball or not kicking it but the guys around them.

“I think it is easy now to put pressure on one guy but leaders like myself should have come through there and got us doing what we needed to do at that point (which was slow the game down a bit and manage it by kicking more).

"It is never about one person but about the team and the leaders like myself need to put our hands up and make those calls during games. It is too late to do it after the game is finished.”

COULDN’T PUT FINGER ON FLAT SECOND HALF

It did look like the Boks ran themselves off their feet, as they looked flat and out of it in the second half, but Kriel said he would wait to watch the video of the game before putting his finger on why it happened.

“I can’t put my finger on why we were so flat (after halftime) and I will need to watch the game. But there were a few incidents that were big momentum changes and as I have said we could have controlled it better. It felt like every turnover they got they ended up scoring from. Mistakes at this level end up being punished and you need to keep going for the full 80 minutes.”

However, while the defeat was a massive fall to earth for the previously all-conquering Boks, the situation they face is not one they haven’t been in before. Kriel was injured in the opening game that was lost to New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup, but his teammates set themselves the task of winning the next six games, which they did to lift the title.

The task of winning the Rugby Championship is arguably going to be harder than it was in Japan six years ago, for the Boks will probably now need to beat the All Blacks twice on their own soil. But the pressure is something he says the team will embrace and even welcome.

“I think we all at this level enjoy the pressure. At this level of the sport there are lots of ebbs and flows and ups and downs. The situation we are in now is no different to what we have experienced in the past.

"The true test is how you bounce back and respond, and the beautiful thing about rugby is that you get another chance, which we do in Cape Town on Saturday.

“That’s one of the great things about this sport, you get subjected to a true test of character. They are called test matches for a reason. They test your character and how you bounce back. We will be excited this week. It will be a great test for us and as South Africans tend to do, I am sure we will get up and fight.”

The Bok team for the return game against the Wallabies will be announced on Tuesday afternoon. Coach Rassie Erasmus had hinted at making changes for Cape Town but admitted after the game that he may have to rethink.

After what Kriel said about the experienced players needing to step up in their leadership/decision making role, it will be interesting to see if he moves away from any plan to give less experienced players a chance in a game which now has a lot on the line.

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