Jesse Kriel in, Lukhanyo Am out for Springboks – report

The Springboks’ hopes of winning the Rugby Championship – as they did in the last World Cup year back in 2019 – seem to have been dashed after their latest defeat to the All Blacks.

New Zealand now look certain to claim the southern hemisphere title once again, a feat that will be achieved if they beat Australia on 29 July (11:45am kick off SA time).

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Meanwhile, the Springboks will be back at home when they host Argentina at Ellis Park in the later game on 29 July (5:05pm kick off SA time).

With all this in mind, the national coaches will continue to balance their squad resources as part of a grand plan aimed at ensuring the team hopefully peaks at the right time at the World Cup with players having received a good share of game-time.

According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, part of this plan will see Jesse Kriel start at outside centre against Argentina, taking over from Lukhanyo Am after he started the first two Tests of the Rugby Championship.

As expected, Kurt-Lee Arendse – hat-trick hero from the first Test of the year – will likely replace veteran Makazole Mapimpi on the left wing.

This past week, Jesse Kriel appeared at a media conference in another clear indication that he is set for some overdue game-time.

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The Springboks will head into three warm-up World Cup games after the Argentina clash

With four matches left before the team launches their title defence at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Kriel said he was thrilled to be in the wider squad, and he while every player in the group wanted as much game time as possible, they believed in the coaches’ plans in terms of team selection.

“The team to face Argentina will only be selected next week, but of course I’m desperate to play,” said Kriel. “If you ask any player, they’ll tell you they want to play, but we understand that the selections are always based on what the team needs against specific opposition.”

Commenting on his rugby at Japanese club, Canon Eagles, Kriel said: “It’s a foreign country with a different language and less distractions, so it allows you more time to work on your rugby. They also have an amazing work ethic over there and someone is always willing to help after training, so I think I’ve become a better player playing on that side.”

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