Jesse Kriel feels amazing about becoming the new Springboks captain. The rugby star will lead South Africa against Italy at Loftus Versfeld this Saturday. Kriel becomes the 67th player ever to captain the team during a Test match. He calls this moment one of the best things that has happened during his sports career. The center feels lucky to have teammates like Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth helping him lead the squad.
Kriel warns everyone not to think Italy will be easy to beat. He says the Italian team plays with passion and deserves lots of respect from South Africa. The captain wants his team to start the official Test season with a strong performance. Kriel knows that winning games makes the whole country feel good about rugby. He spent the week preparing hard with his teammates for this important match.
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick picked Kriel because he works harder than most players. Stick watched Kriel lead the team against the Barbarians and liked what he saw. The coach thinks Kriel ranks among the world's best outside centers right now. Stick says good captains must work hard and set examples for other players. Kriel does both of these things really well and makes his coaches proud.
Kriel warns everyone not to think Italy will be easy to beat. He says the Italian team plays with passion and deserves lots of respect from South Africa. The captain wants his team to start the official Test season with a strong performance. Kriel knows that winning games makes the whole country feel good about rugby. He spent the week preparing hard with his teammates for this important match.
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick picked Kriel because he works harder than most players. Stick watched Kriel lead the team against the Barbarians and liked what he saw. The coach thinks Kriel ranks among the world's best outside centers right now. Stick says good captains must work hard and set examples for other players. Kriel does both of these things really well and makes his coaches proud.
