White on Kriel's versatility: 'Good for us as a group'
REACTION: David Kriel is slowly but surely hitting his strides with every Bulls outing.
The Bulls recorded a comfortable 43-26 win over the Ospreys on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
The match was delayed by 30 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
However, the late start did not impact the Bulls as they scored seven tries during the Round Eight clash.
Kriel was one of the standout performers in the team’s win – scoring a brace of tries.
According to the URC’s stats, the utility back made two clean breaks and beat six defenders which is the most of any player on the field.
He also made try-saving tackles.
#BULvOSP Great hands and presence of mind from Mapoe, slots in David Kriel who goes on to get his second for the afternoon!@vodacom #URC #TrueToTheBlue #BullsHeard pic.twitter.com/g0gILvwRzB
— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) November 26, 2022
Speaking to reporters after the match, Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White had huge praise for the rising star.
“He made two try-saving tackles which just gave the whole team energy,” White said when asked about Kriel’s performance.
“He can play 12, 13, fullback and we are playing him at wing, it is just fantastic that he can play week in and week out like that.
“He is certainly good for us as a group.”
Other positives for the Bulls were the performance of Nizaam Carr and his fellow loose forwards, Springbok Elrigh Louw and WJ Steenkamp.
Ruan Nortje – leading the team for the first time – was also impressive.
Too attack focussed
The Bulls boss revealed there is one concern in his team’s overall performance, namely defence.
In the second stanza, the Bulls conceded a couple of penalties, allowing the Ospreys to score a late try for a losing bonus point.
“Take nothing away from how well we played in the first half. However the one area we spoke about after the match is that we are a little soft on defence,” White explained.
“It’s like we are attack focused and love having the ball in our hands, but we got to have the same energy and desire when we defend.
“We can’t just rely on scramble defence and individual stuff, we have to collectively look at how we can improve as a group.”
He added: “Being 31-14 up, we decided to bring in some replacements and probably lost our rhythm and a little bit of cohesion in the second half.
“And it was unfortunate, but I wanted to give players game time and in the end as a coach I’m happy.”
