All Blacks v South Africa: Springboks veteran Jesse Kriel says they’ve improved since Rugby World Cup final

Springboks veteran Jesse Kriel has a warning for the All Blacks ahead of the highly anticipated clash against the All Blacks on Sunday.

The two-time World Cup winner says the side have improved since their final clash in Paris and a major part of that is down to new attack coach and former All Black Tony Brown.

The Yokohama Canon Eagles midfielder started in his side’s 12-11 final victory at the Stade de France last October. But that was only the second time he had tasted victory over the All Blacks, with two wins, seven defeats and a draw against the black jersey.

There’s been no major World Cup hangover for the Boks, who split their home series against world number two Ireland in July before crushing the Wallabies in consecutive weekends to sit atop the Rugby Championship table.

“If you’re not better now than you were last year, you’ve got a problem,” said Kriel ahead of the Rugby Championship test at Ellis Park on Sunday.

“The big thing for us is that we want to stay ahead of the curve and keep working on our individual skills to get better. I definitely believe we’re a better team than we were last year.”

“Our focus now is to train as hard as possible. This is a massive test for both teams, so it’s important that we are well prepared and have our systems in place,” Kriel added.

“The intensity with which we play, and our effort is all that we can control,” said Kriel. “Both teams are in a similar situation with new coaching staff and players after the RWC final, so this week will be about who prepares the best and uses their opportunities on the day.

“They have unbelievable players with a great skill set, and they play a fast game, so we know what we are up against this weekend.”

South Africa produced two bonus point wins over the Wallabies in Brisbane and Perth, the second test they appeared to have the luxury to ring the changes and still appeared untroubled against Joe Schmidt’s side.

“Last week we played a completely new team, with a lot of guys that weren’t in the [Rugby World Cup] final. Both teams are in a similar space in that a lot of new guys have come in and have put up their hands.”

Kriel has plenty of praise for Brown who has stepped into the role as assistant coach under Rassie Erasmus.

“Brown has been massive since he’s come in. He’s got the guys in the room really excited. I think he’s got us playing a really exciting brand of rugby that the guys are enjoying. It’s nice getting onto the field and being excited about how you’re going to play.

“You can see quite a bit of change, but you keep the core of what you’ve built on for the last couple years.

“If you look at a guy like Eben [Etzebeth], he’s got an unbelievable pair of hands and offloading ability. If you look from one to 15, there are guys with amazing skill sets,” Kriel added.

Locking issue for Springboks

Etzebeth is in doubt for Sunday’s test with fellow locks RG Snyman and Salmaan Moerat already ruled out.

Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids said it will test their depth in the position.

“Yes, we have a few injuries amongst our locks, but it’s part of the game and Pieter-Steph [du Toit] and Ruan [Nortje] had good games in our last outing. It’s never nice to lose experience, but this will open up opportunities for other players to put up their hands and show what they can do at the highest level.

“Franco [Mostert], Lood [de Jager] and Jean [Kleyn] are also out and while it may seem like a crisis, we see it as an opportunity to increase our depth at lock and we want the next players to show us what they can do.”

The All Blacks have also had locking issues with captain Scott Barrett missing the last two tests due to a finger injury while Blues skipper Patrick Tuipulotu did not travel to South Africa due to a calf injury.

Listen live: All Blacks vs South Africa, live on Newstalk ZB, GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio, 3am Sunday