White confident Kriel and Moodie will work in midfield for Bulls

Bulls director of rugby Jake White is confident that the midfield combination of David Kriel and Canan Moodie will prove successful for the franchise in the future.

Kriel and Moodie have been the preferred pair in midfield for the Bulls lately, but they have not yet delivered convincing performances when playing at 12 and 13.

Over the weekend, against Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship, they took a break from their partnership, with Kriel moving to 13 and Harold Vorster joining him at 12, due to an injury to winger Sebastian de Klerk, which saw Moodie moving out to the wing in the No 14 jersey.

The Bulls would go on to defeat Ospreys 61-24 in front of their supporters at Loftus Versfeld, with Kriel and Moodie putting in telling displays.

Kriel excels at 13

Kriel won the man-of-the-match award as he was heavily involved, fitting in perfectly at 13. He was influential in attack, contributing a try to the nine that the Bulls scored. He even managed to set Moodie up for a try after intercepting a ball thanks to his great anticipation.

Kriel’s performance at 13 raised questions about whether he might permanently move to that position.

White dismissed that idea but credited Kriel for being a model of what they were trying to achieve with backline players who could play multiple positions.

“I was happy for him; he has been playing 12 for a long time now, and I moved him to 13. To be man-of-the-match is only going to benefit him, knowing that he can excel from week to week in different positions,” White said.

“There’s a philosophy I have here; I would like to have backs who can play in different positions. David has played wing, fullback, 12 and 13; Canan has played 13, 14 and 15; and Kurt-Lee (Arendse) has played 14, 15 and 11. I think with the way the game is going now, you need more players who are versatile.

“The number on your jersey is irrelevant, and then you need to be as adept and skilful as necessary in that situation (transitioning from defence to attack).

“The forwards need to have numbers on their backs, but the backs have to interchange, get to the first receiver and second receiver, and maybe get to the edge, and David does that well,” he said.

‘A bit behind with combinations’

Moodie had a good game on the wing, scoring a brace and being heavily involved in both defence and attack.

White insisted that Kriel playing at 13 was not a vote of no confidence against Moodie. He said the reason Moodie may be struggling at 13 is because of missing out on preseason preparations due to Springbok duty.

“I’m not saying Canan can’t play 13,” White said.

“It’s very difficult because Canan came to us late after the World Cup, wasn’t in the preseason, and had to have three weeks off after the roadshow. He was way behind when he got to us, and I’m talking about it from a combinations point of view.

“I’m not phased about David playing 12 and 13, and I’m sure David with Canan going forward will be as good for us as Harold (Vorster) was with David.”