In praise of rugby’s greatest man-beast

SkallaWatching Schalk Burger go through the gears last weekend was a reminder of how magnificent he continues to be.

Outstanding players are a consistent feature of the South African rugby landscape, but Burger occupies the rarefied air of being truly distinguished. In the past decade there have been perhaps half a dozen such players, chiefly Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield.

We are very lucky.

Burger has played for 13 years at the top level, going mano a mano with the hardest brutes in the business. In his early years he thrived on the physical contest, using his muscle to dominate. But recent seasons have brought a maturing in the loose forward and he has evolved his game. As a consequence of illness and injury, he is less direct and more subtle, marrying softer touches to his uncomplicated style.

Burger, the most physical player I have ever seen, has been a marvel to watch. His instinct for the ball and the game’s shifts are uncanny. Like a blond dervish, he chases and clatters into the action, seemingly without obvious concern for the risks (although we know otherwise).[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]’The most physical player I have ever seen'[/pullquote]

Were there such a thing as rugby royalty, he would be at the top table.

South African rugby is famously parochial, but Burger is one of the few who escapes that curse. He is popular wherever he goes, a hero to all.

sdgHe is now 33 and it is obvious that he is winding down. In just a few months, after Super Rugby, he will bid farewell to Newlands for the joys of Saracens in north London. It will be a home from home for Burger for Saracens is an ambitious club with a formidable South African presence. The next braai will never be far away.

Saracens won’t be getting a player looking for a comfortable path to the exit. Burger is a 100-percenter who will throw himself into action from day one. Although his ego is among the most subdued in the game, he’s a proud bloke. He won’t dine on past glories.

European conditions will demand extra of him and he will tinker until he is most effective.

Saracens will soon boast the ultimate team man. Burger has always made it clear that he loves rugby’s brotherhood. Stories of him downing beers with opposition players are legion. He plays hard and drinks heartily, making sure to preserve rugby’s grand old traditions.

One of his more endearing traits is that he never takes himself too seriously. Burger knows that while he plays a game he loves and it means so much to his countrymen, he isn’t changing the world. Perspective frames everything he does, which is why he always has a smile for the referee – even the iffy ones – and credits the opposition. The camaraderie and sociability of the game are important to him.

Burger has played 86 times for South Africa and may have won many more caps but for the catastrophic neck injury in 2006 and bacterial meningitis that nearly killed him three years ago.

Injuries are an occupational hazard in rugby, but what Burger endured could have finished him. That he pulled through and played for South Africa again – against all medical prognoses – confirmed the bloody-minded spirit that runs through him.

It’s a sad possibility that we may never see him again in the Green and Gold. He won his most recent cap against Argentina in the World Cup playoff last year, but the tectonic plates underpinning SA rugby are moving fast.

Allister Coetzee was installed as Springbok coach this week and will bring with him new ideas and philosophies. He knows Burger better than most, but he knows, too, that the Boks are a team in flux. Burger is a member of the old order and the loose forward cupboard is bursting. There are younger, faster and fitter forwards banging down the door, although none as canny or as cunning as Burger.

Coetzee will continue to select overseas players, but the urging will be to look first to players at home, a policy that will militate against Burger still playing a role.

He won’t mind. He knows he’s had a grand run.

And it’s been a joy watching from the sidelines. – © Sunday Tribune