Rugby Meets Football: Jesse Kriel Trains with Kaizer Chiefs Legend Siphiwe Tshabalala

• Springbok star Jesse Kriel and Kaizer Chiefs legend Siphiwe 'Shabba' Tshabalala train together, creating a buzz on social media.
• Kriel recently captained the Springboks and is a Rugby World Cup legend, having won in 2019 and 2023.
• The picture of the two South African sports top personalities gathered different reactions from netizens on social media

It’s not every day we see football and rugby come together, but it’s always lovely to see when it happens, with Springbok star Jesse Kriel and Kaizer Chiefs legend Siphiwe 'Shabba' Tshabalala creating a buzz on social media as they both linked up for a training session.

Kriel, who recently captained the Springboks against the Barbarians in the Qatar Airways Cup and also in the Test match against Italy in the absence of Siya Kolisi, has been a social media sensation recently, and he’s a Rugby World Cup legend after winning the competition twice in 2019 and 2023.

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Tshabalala is a football World Cup legend in his own right as he will always be remembered for scoring the first goal at the 2010 edition, which was the first and only competition to be hosted by an African country to date.

Kriel and Tshabalala spotted together in the gym

Kriel, in a recent post on his official handle on X, posted a picture of him and Tshabalala training together in a gym.

Tshabalala might be retired, but he’s training to keep fit, while Kriel is preparing for the Springboks’ next test match against Australia in the Rugby Championship.

South Africa will take on the Wallabies at Ellis Park on Saturday, August 16, 2025, and the second game at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, August 23, 2025.

Kriel captioned the picture he shared on X: "Morning Work 🫡🔨⚽️ @siphiweshabba."

The picture of the two South African sports personalities sparked reactions among fans of both sports each personality represented.

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Reactions as Kriel and Tshabalala link up in training

Ndaba_Vuyani shared:

"Mr. Shabba, Mr. historical goal in WCUP, Jesse you tough man, the way held that defence in Japan is just out of this world."

Briantmalefane commented:

"Beast mode 💪🏾🐐🏃🏾🏃🏼‍♂️‍➡️2 Great Legends of SA sports 🇿🇦⚽️🏉."

LeeXRP*10_ said:

"We truelly moving away from old times. I like our brand new Mzansi and vibes totally."

londani_t wrote:

"Have you ever scored in the world cup?"

BhekiBolt added:

"Someone said “ just Two guys that know how to beat France 🇫🇷 at World Cup level” 😭😭😭"

SteadyAbeeing reminisced:

"I had a friend from Mexico and they also have a big soccer culture and the 1st time I tell him I am from South Africa he is like "Yooooooooh!!!!!!!! Simphiwe Tshabalala, 2010 that goal 🔥🔥🔥🔥"

charles_tshwane responded:

"Our young players must spend time with people like Siphiwe Tshabalala, so they can learn the business and commercial side of the game. I understand Kriel is the incoming Springbok Captain after Siya Kolisi. Ntso tse monate today still makes more money than current soccer stars."

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Kriel flaunts a R2.1m ride on social media

Briefly News also reported that Jesse Kriel flaunted an expensive car in a recent post he shared on Instagram.

The Springboks star shared a picture of a car said to be worth R2.1 million in the South African automobile market.

Source: Briefly News