He was born in Zambia, but educated in Paarl, 60 km from Cape Town, where he began to play rugby. He made his debut for South Africa in 1999 after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury and captained the side to a 101–0 victory over Italy.

His hopes of captaining the team in the 1999 Rugby World Cup were shattered two weeks later when he suffered another serious knee injury. However, he fought back and eventually became a Springboks regular and an effective captain.

Krige was a hard-working and determined openside flanker who defied his injuries for an impressive career, playing 68 times for Western Province, 56 times for the Stormers and 19 times for Northampton.

He finished his career in the English Premiership with Northampton in 2005, retiring to return to Cape Town to pursue business interests.

He made one final high-profile appearance, captaining a Western Province XV against a World XV in his testimonial at Newlands in June 2006. The testimonial raised funds for the Reach for a Dream charity.