Bulls v Lions: Brothers David and Richard Kriel to face off again in Jukskei derby

Brothers Richard and David Kriel will once again be going head-to-head when the Lions and Bulls collide in what should be an entertaining United Rugby Championship (URC) cross-Jukskei derby at Loftus on Saturday afternoon (2pm).

This is the latest brother v brother rivalry in South African URC rugby, but certainly not the first.

A previous URC brother battle between the Lions and Bulls saw former Springbok and Sharks team-mates Jannie du Plessis and Bismarck du Plessis fronting each other as both saw out their final competitive years on the Highveld, but for different teams.

After that Jordan and Jaden Hendrikse, and Emmanuel and Vincent Tskituka, battled it out against one another in Lions and Sharks derbies, and in a funny twist of fate all four now play together in Durban for the coastal franchise.

Bulls win

Late last month the Bulls beat the Lions comfortably at Ellis Park in the first Jukskei derby of the season, with centre David Kriel coming out on the winning side and Richard of the Lions having to settle for defeat against his boet. It was a third straight loss for Richard against David.

The two live together in Pretoria, but there has been no banter in the build up as they see it as just another match.

“Surprisingly not,” said Richard this week when asked if there had been some banter between the two.

“We get this question a lot, but I don’t even think we have spoken about rugby once this week, we did a bit before the Ellis Park game but this week we haven’t really spoken about it.

“We always say the only thing better than playing against each other is to play together. But for both of us we are just professionals, this is a normal week, I am playing the Bulls, he is playing the Lions, and that’s about it. It’s all really chilled and we’ve been doing our own thing.”

Even his family try to stay neutral, and his parents will be in the crowd again at Loftus on Saturday to cheer on both brothers in the match.

Neutral family

“The funny thing is I bought my sister and my mom Lions jerseys at the beginning of the season, and then my brother always gives my dad a Bulls jersey,” explained Richard.

“But last year, I think it was before the Loftus game, my dad went and created a shirt. It was a white shirt with a Lions jersey on the one side and a Bulls jersey on the other and it has Kriel on the back.

“So obviously my mom and dad never pick sides. It is always good to have them there and they are here this weekend, so it is going to be lekker again.”

Richard is also excited to play again where it all began for him, with his senior career starting at the Bulls, before he moved to Italy for a season with Zebre Parma, and then back to SA last season to join up with the Lions.

The Lions also enjoy playing in Pretoria, despite the hostile atmosphere, as their only URC win over the Bulls came at Loftus a few seasons ago, while they were a missed penalty away on the fulltime hooter of beating them at the ground last season as well.

“Personally for me to play at Loftus is amazing, having been at the Bulls for a couple of years. These derby games are the ones you want to play. This is where you measure yourself against contenders for the Springbok jersey,” explained Kriel.

“So there is no extra motivation needed for us to go and play there. Yes the crowd is going to be against us, but like last year we are expecting a lot of Lions supporters, which is really nice, so it will be an exciting one and hopefully the weather won’t be too bad.”