Burger's future in the balance?
White – 'Losing Schalk, like losing three'
A visibly shattered Jake White has compared star flank Schalk Burger's season-ending injury to having 'three players' ruled out. Burger was on Monday ruled out of action until January of next year, having suffered a very serious neck injury during Saturday's disjointed 29-15 win over Scotland in Port Elizabeth.
Twenty-three-year-old Burger – the IRB Player of the Year in 2004 – will undergo a "neck fusion operation", which will involve taking bone from his hip to repair the injury.
"It's obviously a very serious operation for such a young guy, it's not just cutting in and repairing a nerve – I'm scared about his future," said a forlorn White. "He's not really keen to talk about it, but he's going for a second opinion and he'll let the medical staff know when he gets back.
"This morning I was told Schalk would be out for three weeks. Then an hour later I was told it would be eight weeks if he had an operation. Now I've just been told that he will be out until January. I'm scared to let him go to another doctor, because he might say that Schalk can never play rugby again."
The Springbok coach continued: "This was a freak injury, but again, it backs up what I've been saying for ages. We have to manage our players more carefully. Schalk is 23 years old and needs a major neck operation. He's going to get six months 'rest' during the Test season when it should be the other way around [by being rested in the Super 14].
"It's not the amount they play and it's not the nature of the game, it's just the fact that this group of players has come from juniors to seniors without giving them the opportunity to develop physically.
"It's got nothing to do with the numbers of games per season. I think the reality is you can play 50 games in a year if your body is ready for it. But if you've gone form school to a successful Under-19 team, to an U21 team that's successful, to a Super 14 franchise, to a national team in four years, well, then the law of averages tells me that you won't be able to cope for a long time and that's what I've been saying for a long time, since I took over this job (in 2004)."
White is obviously hopeful that Burger will be raring to go at the start of next year – what with a small matter of a World Cup on the agenda later in the year – but, crucially, he revealed that his star man had played most of Saturday's game with the injury, having accidentally collided with a Scottish player's hip before the end of the first quarter.
"It's like losing three players," continued White. "Obviously it wasn't his best game, but yet his work-rate was still above the next guy… Imagine if the injury never happened.
"I was aware that he wasn't performing like he usually does, but I didn't know why and he was getting a mouthful from the senior players because he was sort of lagging behind. Typical Schalk though, he didn't say it's because he was sore… he just kept playing for almost 60 minutes.
"On the plane trip to Cape Town the following day he said he was sore – and if he says he's sore then he's really sore. He has the highest pain threshold of any player in the squad. He told the physio that his neck was sore and his entire body too… and when he started getting pins and needles down his left hand we started realising it was serious."
White said he would not be calling up a replacement loose forward – and definitely not a specialist openside flanker in the shape of Western Province captain Luke Watson or retreaded fetcher Wikus van Heerden.
"I'm happy with what I've got," he said. "Joe van Niekerk, Pedrie Wannenburg and Jacques Cronjé are all in the squad and they've all played flank at Super 14 level."
A bitterly disappointed Burger said he will take it "one step at a time".
"The news is obviously very disappointing and I am currently feeling a little discomfort. We will take it one step at a time after the operation. I want to thank my team-mates for their support and wish them well for the Test against France."
"He is someone that gives nothing less than his every effort for every team that he plays for. On behalf of the team I want to wish him a speedy recovery and good luck with his period of rehabilitation," Bok captain John Smit said.
Meanwhile, White confirmed that centre-cum-wing André Snyman had been passed fit to face France, after picking a wrist injury at the weekend ("soft tissue damage"), whilst winger Breyton Paulse – who missed training on Monday with a hamstring niggle – would be given until later in the week ("Tuesday or Wednesday") to prove his fitness.
Bulls strongmen Bakkies Botha (lock) and Jacques Cronjé (loose forward), Western Province centre De Wet Barry and Sharks utility back Brent Russell all returned to training on Monday morning.
By Howard Kahn
