Bulls boss Jake White has hailed hugely important back David Kriel, likening his skillset to that of Springboks legend Jean de Villiers.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 26-year-old has been a consistent performer for the Bulls, particularly since the South African teams joined the United Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n
When Kriel<\/a> first broke through into the Pretoria-based side\u2019s senior team, he mostly played as an outside back but he has featured more regularly in the midfield recently.<\/p>\n His versatility and consistency in performance has seen him rack up massive minutes for the Bulls<\/a> over the past four seasons, with White<\/a> guessing that no other player has played more for the franchise in that period. This season, he has racked up 18 appearances in the URC<\/a>, missing just two fixtures.<\/p>\n David Kriel\u2019s importance<\/p>\n Still, his exploits with the men from Pretoria have not been rewarded with a call-up to the Springboks<\/a> squad, which White predicts will change eventually.<\/p>\n \u201cI am really surprised that he\u2019s never picked up by people on how important he is [for us],\u201d the Bulls boss told reporters ahead of the URC final against Leinster.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a fullback as a youngster, he\u2019s played wing, 12 and 13, kicked winning penalties for us against Leinster and Benetton this year.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one guy who\u2019s been with us since day one, from when we started the campaign [joined the URC], I\u2019m almost sure in saying that he has played the most minutes for our team in the last four years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is incredible that he hasn\u2019t been tapped on the shoulder either for national duty, which I\u2019m sure will come, or people in and around the game don\u2019t see the importance he has to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Jake White\u2019s candid revelation on gift he \u2018would like to give this group\u2019 as Bulls prepare for URC final with Leinster<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Leinster-inspired switch and Jean de Villiers-esque qualities<\/p>\n White also revealed that the Bulls\u2019 first meeting with Leinster during their inaugural URC season provided him with inspiration to move Kriel around the backline. This was after the Bulls boss saw the likes of Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw and Ciaran Frawley in action, with Kriel having a similar body type.<\/p>\n This also led the experienced coach to liken Kriel to former Bok captain De Villiers, who also started his career out on the wing before becoming a Test centurion and comfortably one of the best inside centres to wear the Green and Gold jersey.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we played Leinster the very first time at the Aviva Stadium, we lost 31-3 it was the opening game of the tournament, but I remember standing and watching Henshaw, Ringrose and Frawley warm-up and I thought the only guy that I know that is similar to these three is David Kriel,\u201d White explained.<\/p>\n Why Jake White feels his Bulls \u2018don\u2019t need to be told what they need to do\u2019 against Leinster<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnd at that stage, he was playing wing and I decided that I\u2019m going to move him closer to the ball and it was based on that opening game. When I saw that body shape and the skill-sets of what Leinster had, he was the closest that I could get and I\u2019m so glad I did that because there\u2019s no doubt, we\u2019ve seen the value of what he is like.\u201d<\/p>\n The best day of the year is coming in hot \ud83d\ude0d<\/p>\n Grand Final momentum is building\u2026 get those tickets and we\u2019ll see you at Croker \ud83e\udee1<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/FCVqLtkGvz<\/a>#BKTURC<\/a> #URC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YCnMn5lwqz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) June 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Asked about Kriel\u2019s strengths in particular, White added: \u201cHe is quick enough to be an outside back, so it makes him dangerous inside and he\u2019s got an incredible passing skill-set.<\/p>\n \u201cDefensively, he understands defence, he is a bit like Jean de Villiers to me in that he understands how you want to attack and therefore he can read the defence.<\/p>\n \u201cOften people talk about someone being a very good tackler \u2013 I\u2019m not saying he is not a good tackler \u2013 but people assume defence means tackling but the one thing he does really well is understand what the opposition wants to attacking-wise. His defensive understanding is up there with Jean de Villiers, they know the way you stand and who the danger men are in your setup and he\u2019ll actually read it before you can enact the play.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Leinster v Bulls: Italian referee gets third straight URC Final appointment<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n