25/07/2026
Kriel’s Work Rate
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Jesse Kriel’s crossfield try against Wales is a brilliant example of how the Springboks use gain‑line pressure, defensive compression, and elite work rate to create scoring opportunities even in slippery conditions.
The Boks secure a ruck near the 5m line. Reinach plays De Allende, but the wet Durban surface causes the ball to slip through his hands. Fassi is forced to clean up a floating ball one‑handed. He’s vulnerable, and Edwards has a dominant hit lined up, but instead of taking the contact, he chases the intercept. That hesitation allows Fassi to gather cleanly and stay upright.
Fassi then basketball‑passes to Du Toit, who carries strongly down the touchline and gets the Boks over the gain line again. Wales compress their defence, trying to protect the tryline. With how easily South Africa were winning collisions, they could have bashed it over with forwards, but instead they go to Moyo.
The Bok forwards form a wall that buys Moyo time. With Wales compressed, Moyo spots the space and puts in a crossfield kick. Kriel starts his run from much narrower, while Jaco Williams patrols the touchline and Tomos Williams shifts wider as he reads Moyo’s body language.
The kick has perfect hang time and drops around 10m infield from Jaco Williams. Tomos Williams attacks the ball, angling his body toward his own tryline to avoid knocking it forward. Jaco Williams competes in the air and knocks the ball down beautifully for the hard‑working Kriel, who collects and runs around the contest to score.
Gain‑line dominance. Defensive compression. Crossfield awareness. Aerial contest. And Kriel’s relentless work rate. The Springboks created the opportunity, and Kriel finished it with class.
