The Springbok centre said he hopes Ryosuke Iwaihara and Kippei Ishida will line up against him on Saturday.
Springbok centre Jesse Kriel believes the fact that several Springboks ply their trade in Japan will bring a different dynamic to their Test against the nation at Wembley Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 6.10pm).
He is especially looking forward to facing two of his Canon Eagles teammates, should they line up in London.
The match is outside World Rugby’s official Test window, meaning South Africans contracted to overseas Premiership or United Rugby Championship sides are ineligible to play.
Coach Rassie Erasmus said this was strategic, in that it allowed Japan and Japan-based Springboks to get game time (they haven’t had as much local rugby compared to their counterparts) right at the start of the national team’s end-of-year tour.
Nine Springboks in the matchday 23 are contracted in Japan, while Kurt-Lee Arendse spent a Sabbatical with Sagamihara last season.
After Japan, the Springboks take on France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.
‘Familiar faces’
“It’s exciting, especially to play against a lot of familiar faces,” said Kriel. “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, now in a 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.”
He said he was happy for prop Ryosuke Iwaihara and wing Kippei Ishida to be named in the Japanese squad.
“They are unbelievably talented players and I am very happy to see them at the highest level. Hopefully, they get selected so we can play against each other.”
Kriel: Springboks will be challenged in two areas
Kriel said he expected Japan to come hard at them in the air and at the breakdown – the game would be determined in those areas.
“It will be very important to slow their ball down. Japanese rugby is played at a high tempo. They get the ball out of the ruck as quickly as they can and then beat you with tempo,” the Springbok added.
“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.”
