Kriel injured his MCL ligaments in his knee while playing for his club in Japan and will be forced out of action for eight weeks, meaning he won’t be able to take part in the month-long tour, while Du Plessis will not join the team because of the imminent birth of his third child in November.
The Springboks have announced that Stormers flanker Nizaam Carr and Sharks tighthead prop Lourens Adriaanse – who are in the squad to face the Barbarians – will stay on with the Springboks for the entire tour, replacing the two injured players.
But while Adriaanse has been part of the squad for a while now and there were eyebrows raised at Du Plessis’s inclusion since he hasn’t played under coach Allister Coetzee since he took over, the Boks find themselves in a very different situation at loose forward, where Duane Vermeulen was also not included in the squad for personal reasons.
Interestingly, while the Golden Lions released a statement that Kriel was out for four weeks, the Boks statement says it is “up to eight weeks” that the flanker will be out of action.
The Boks now find themselves leaving for Europe with only one recognised openside flanker in rookie Roelof Smit – the Blue Bulls flanker who has loads of promise but has yet to be tested at international level.
Smit is the only natural opensider who plays to the ball and had a great Currie Cup season, and must be a certainty for the four test matches on tour if the Boks want some balance in their loose trio.
While Francois Louw was criticised for his lack of turnovers, the Bath flanker did a lot of unseen work before he was injured, and will be missed in European conditions.
Kriel had a magnificent Super Rugby season but struggled in his appearances for the Boks, and while he had enthusiasm, he isn’t really a player who plays to the ball, but rather one who operates better on a hard field and in space.
