VIDEO: Human defends Bok discard Kriel
REACTION: Blue Bulls head coach Pote Human has defended Springboks centre Jesse Kriel after the side error-ridden performance against the Sharks.
The Sharks outscored the error-prone visitors four tries to one for the 26-10 win in Durban.
Jesse Kriel, playing his first Currie Cup match in four years, scored the Blue Bulls’ try. The 24-year-old was also denied a second following the TMO’s decision which ruled Kriel was on the touchline.
Kriel, along with teammates, struggled to find their momentum and this nightmare performance may have harmed the centre’s plan of making his way back into the Boks squad.
“I think he [Kriel] was a bit too excited,” Pote Human told reporters in Durban, adding: “He wants to prove to everyone how good he is.
“However, he acknowledged he made too many mistakes, too many handling errors and that’s not the Jesse we know,”
The Blue Bulls’ next challenge is the Golden Lions at Loftus Versfeld.
The Pretoria-based union is fully aware of the massive challenge the Golden Lions poses. The Gauteng will be full of confidence coming from the back of a 62-41 win over the Griquas.
Human revealed that their main focus will be to reduce the handling errors, and work on the set-pieces.
“I think we played some good rugby in patches but we made too many mistakes.
“Our line-outs can still be much better, the scrums and then just our handling errors – we must improve that,”
Meanwhile, captain Hanro Liebenberg urged the side to take the positives from the defeat and brace for a tough week ahead
“You have to take each game by itself and we knew the Sharks were going to be a tough battle for us.
“So we just have to go back this week, start from scratch, take the positives out of this and build on it.
“Don’t think we have t do anything different, just stick to our structures and the results will come,” he added.
@rugby365com
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