South Africa back Jesse Kriel is looking forward to the Test against Japan at Wembley on Saturday, saying he will enjoy facing off against players he knows well after nearly a decade of club rugby in Asia.
Kriel, who plays for Canon Eagles in Japan Rugby League One, and the Boks come into the Test in London on the back of winning a second consecutive Rugby Championship in early October.
“It’s exciting, especially to play against a lot of familiar faces,” said Kriel on the SA Rugby website. “I’ve been in Japan for close to seven years now, and it will be good to play with some teammates and guys I’ve played against in the Springbok jersey at the highest level.
“The fact that some of the players know one another will definitely add a different dynamic to the game because the guys know each other’s tendencies and how they play, so tactically we need to be at our best and stop the threats they bring to the game.”
Japan are hardly going to be easy pickings for the Boks, who have experienced defeat at the hands of the Brave Blossoms before, when they lost 34-32 to Japan in Brighton in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Scrumhalf Grant Williams said: “They play a very fast game, and Wembley Stadium has a fast pitch, so I’m very excited about the challenge. They also have good and fast scrumhalves, so it will be a challenging day on the park for us if we don’t slow down their ball.”
He added: “Any team in the world will want to challenge us, and we know Japan have been playing really well. We’ve looked at their past results and the way they play, so they will be psyched up and ready for the battle on Saturday.”
Kriel also said that while the tour to the UK and Europe would span five matches, the Boks couldn’t afford to look ahead to the likes of France and Ireland just yet.
He said: “This game is everything for us to get our end-of-the-year campaign off to a good start, and we won’t look further than this game. So, it’s important to get a good result.”
