Burger is wary of SA factor in Scots’ line-up
Boks take day off training after heavy toll on players’ bodies in Samoa clash
THE high casualty rate from the Battle of Birmingham, as Schalk Burger dubs it, forced the Springbok coaching staff to cancel yesterday afternoon’s training session. There was no point because half of the team that played Samoa were not in a state to take contact, although nearly all of the walking wounded should recover for Saturday’s Pool B showdown with Scotland.
Burger, surprisingly considering the way he flung himself at anything in a blue jersey, is one of the few that are perfectly intact apart from “a bit of a broken heart” at saying farewell to his good friend Jean de Villiers yesterday morning.
“Jean was the glue that held this squad together and his role must now be fulfilled by the other senior players,” Burger said. “And quickly, because as sad as we are to lose Jean, you cannot afford to mope and you have to move on – Scotland will fancy their chances of beating us and we have had our problems with them over the years, even when they were not playing that well, which is certainly not currently the case.”
Burger, a broad grin almost always in place, said that it did not help that two of the “Scots” were Afrikaners.
“Heck we used to be able to call our moves in Afrikaans against Scotland and it was double Dutch to them but that is not going to work this weekend with Messrs Josh Strauss and WP Nel on hand to do quick translations to their teammates.
Burger said the pair would obviously be giving the Scotland coaching staff insights into the Springbok culture, and to make matters worse “they are bloody good players”.
“I hate playing against Strauss. It is that damn beard of his!” Burger laughed. “It gets in the way and is prickly as hell. Seriously, I know Josh from his early days back at Maties before he moved up to the Lions. He is a typical South African loose forward – very strong in driving through the tackle, honest in his work-rate and aggressive in defence.”
Scotland have enjoyed two solid wins in Pool B, putting Japan in their place after their giant-killing act in round one and then on Sunday putting a forgettable first-half performance against the USA behind them to rally and play good rugby in the second half.
“This match could well decide who wins the Pool, not that we are looking that far ahead,” Burger said.
The Boks finish with a match against the USA in London and the Scots must still encounter a Samoan team that has sidelined Jean de Villiers, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield and Jannie du Plessis.
Apart from the obvious exception of De Villiers, most of the above are expected to play this weekend, with Du Plessis (knee) and De Allende (knee) the biggest concerns.
“Samoa are very much a unique challenge,” Burger said. “It is just a fact of the World Cup that whoever plays them will have a player or two sent home. It happened to Jean in 2007 against them, and now lightning has struck twice. Jean, Samoa and World Cups just don’t go to together.”
Burger said it was devastating for the squad to lose their captain. “I was right next to him when (Samoan fullback) Tim Nanai-Williams’ shoulder collided with Jean’s face, and when I heard that horrible sound of bone breaking, I feared the worst.” WESTERN PROVINCE director of rugby Gert Smal says he is still to have a chat with Jean de Villiers to find out what the future holds for the former Springbok captain.
De Villiers retired from international rugby on Sunday after a fractured jaw ruled him out of the World Cup.
The versatile De Villiers hinted over the weekend that he would see out his playing days abroad. So he may not be available for the Stormers in next year’s revamped 18team Super Rugby tournament.
“It’s not the right time to talk to Jean because it’s a difficult time for him,” Smal said yesterday.
De Villiers and new Stormers coach Eddie Jones could be a potent combination, fit to help the Cape franchise break their Super Rugby duck,.
One player who will be back next season is Schalk Burger, who will join the Stormers after he completes his obligations in Japan.
The Stormers kick off their campaign with a mouth-watering clash against the Bulls at Newlands at the end of February.
“It's always a highly anticipated match,” Smal said. “But there are going to be a lot of those next year... everybody will be excited by the new challenges ahead.
“Playing new teams like (those from) Japan and Argentina will be great. The players will also have to get used to playing in new cities like Singapore, which is extremely humid.”
The six South African teams are grouped in two African pools along with the new entrants from Japan and Argentina. The existing 10 Australasian teams will be divided into New Zealand and Australian pools.
The African pools play home and away against teams in their pool. They play either home or away against the teams in the other African pool, and their programme is completed by matches against all the teams from either the Australian or New Zealand conference.
The Stormers, Bulls, Cheetahs and the Japanese team comprise Africa Conference 1, which will play against the Australian conference.
Africa Conference 2 features the Kings, Lions, Sharks and the Argentinian team. They will play against the New Zealand conference.
To reduce the travel burden on South African teams, three of the Japanese entrant’s matches against SA teams will be played in Singapore.
The winners of each pool will earn automatic entry to the knockout Super Rugby Finals Series. The next highestranked team from the African conference will also be placed in the Finals Series along with the three next highest-ranked teams from Australasian conference.
With the Stormers only playing Australian teams in the league phase, Jones could be just the ally they need to do well next year. But Smal says the Aussie teams will still pose a big challenge.