“I had no idea he speaks Xhosa” – this was the reaction of one of many Springbok supporters after discovering that a two-time world cup winner was fluent in another African language.
Recently Jesse Kriel stunned thousands of supporters after an interview with backline coach Mzwandile Stick went viral.
In the view the former Blitzbok asks Jesse to reflect on the success of the year for the team, placing particular emphasis on the fact that the boks won 11 out of 13 matches, but falling short of a near perfect campaign with 2 defeats.
With the entire question being phrased in IsiXhosa, nobody thought that Jesse would respond – but too many people’s amazement, he understood every single word.
Responding to coach Mzwandile, he said: “Ndicel’ i13 out of 13 (I wanted 13 out of 13).”
“We dropped the ball, and we’re very disappointed. It’s small margins. Next season, we want to push to go even better.”
Concluding the short interview, Jesse later said: “Ngiyabonga Mqeqeshi (thank you, boss).”
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Taking to the comment section of the post shared by sports broadcaster, Supersport, many expressed their shock.
“Wow, Jesse speaks Xhosa! No wonder I love you so much Jesse,” commented a supporter.
Another commented on how much she admired the diversity of the team.
“You guys are honestly a bunch of special guys. The diversity in that team is unheard of … agree up 13/13 kaloku.”
“No! I think I love Jesse Kriel even more now! I’m super impressed. I didn’t know he is this fluent,” added a third person.
In the past, Jesse has opened about growing up in KwaZulu-Natal where he and his twin brother learnt how to speak IsiZulu.
“I grew up in Underberg. Part of that was growing up on a farm, that was where I picked up speaking Zulu. I always use to talk a bit on the farm and just used to communicate with the people on the farm,” he recalled in an Interview with his former club, the Blue Bulls.
https://youtu.be/Jcgk2g-PiKY?si=O9Pnjn68npSEsneQ&t=124
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