Jacobus Albertus Kriel (born 21 August 1989 in

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

, South Africa) is a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player for . He plays as a flanker. Kriel has also represented the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg, colloquially known as UJ, is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant fundi ...

in the

Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each unive ...

. He was the headboy of Hoërskool Standerton and captained their first team, he also played

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The ...

Career

On 28 May 2016, Kriel was included in a 31-man squad for their three-test match series against a touring team. Kriel was a part of the Springbok team that defeated France 3–0 in the mid-year test series in 2017. Following this series, Kriel took over as captain of the Lions for the rest of the 2017 Super Rugby season after regular captain Warren Whiteley was injured during the test series against the French. Kriel was ruled out for the rest of 2017 following a shoulder injury at training prior to the first test against New Zealand. On 30 April 2018, it was announced that Kriel had been released from his contract with the Lions to join up with former coach Johan Ackermann at

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

. The Lions announced on 3 February 2020 that Kriel had rejoined the club on a three-year deal.

References

External links

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Lions profile
1989 births Living people South African rugby union players Golden Lions players Lions (United Rugby Championship) players Rugby union flankers Afrikaner people University of Johannesburg alumni Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay players South African expatriate rugby union players in Japan 21st-century South African sportsmen South Africa international rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players Rugby union players from Mpumalanga South African expatriate rugby union players in England {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-1980s-stub