60 minutes or 20 minutes? This is Allister Coetzee’s “Schalk Burger conundrum” ahead of Saturday night’s Super Rugby match against the Sharks.
The Stormers icon joins the squad this week following the conclusion of the All-Japan Rugby Championship on Saturday. And it looks increasingly likely that he will play some part against the Sharks under the lights of his beloved Newlands.
Flank Michael Rhodes suffered a heavy knock to the knee in the 22-19 win over the Lions, and if he is not fit to take the field on Saturday there will be a re-shuffle as far as the Stormers’ backrow is concerned.
The Stormers couldn’t assess Rhodes yesterday as he was one of 12 players from the Cape franchise who was in Johannesburg for “some admin” and “photo shoots” with the Springboks.
Siya Kolisi would be the obvious choice to replace Rhodes and play alongside Duane Vermeulen and Nizaam Carr against the Sharks, with Burger possibly coming off the bench because he hasn’t been part of the team set-up so far this season.
The boost a player with Burger’s stature can give his teammates and the Newlands crowd off the bench in such a vital match would be priceless. And that is probably why Coetzee is even considering playing him at all. If it was a player other than Burger, it would have been a no-brainer to give him a few days off and unleash him against the might of the Chiefs next week.
Coetzee may also be temped to start with Burger. However, it might be a bit of risk to throw him in from the start in a match where the physicality is bound to be at least 50% tougher than what he has experienced over the last few months. Even if you are the great Schalk Burger, the pace and the intensity of Super Rugby would be a shock to the system.
But Coetzee is confident the former Springbok Player of the Year will be hitting the ground running when he joins his teammates this week.
“Schalk is in the mix,” Coetzee said yesterday. “I’ve been chatting with him for some time. He will be in Cape Town tomorrow and the medical team will check him out.
“He is fresh. He has been playing off the bench, not because of poor form, but because their Japanese flyhalf got injured and you can only play two foreigners in the starting line-up.
“He is looking forward to be back, so I will make a call when I see him. Looking at our situation, if Rhodes is out, then one has got to consider Schalk.”
Kolisi has made two cameo appearances off the bench for the Stormers this season after battling his way back from injury. He looks in great shape and made an impact against the Lions when he scored the match’s decisive try after carrying the ball at the back of the Stormers’ maul.
But there is some concern about the form of fellow Springbok Nizaam Carr, who is trying to get back to his best after a virus interfered with his pre-season training.
The bearded flanker hasn’t really made the same impact with ball in hand so far this season, while he was overshadowed at the breakdowns on Saturday. However, Carr is a class act and should soon be at his best with a few more matches under the belt.
“One has to look at combinations when making a decision about the make-up of your loose trio,” Coetzee said.
“We have had a good combination with Rynhardt Elstadt, Duane (Vermeulen) and Mike. Now we brought in Nemo (Carr) at six after Rynhardt dropped out.
“Nemo did well at No 6 last year and played himself into Springbok contention from the No 6 position. With the possibility of Mike not playing, we have got to look and see how best you can keep a combination that can replace Mike Rhodes as a lineout option and a ball carrier. One thing about Schalk, he can play six, seven and eight. He is very similar to Nizaam, who people initially thought would just be a good No 8 or blindside flank. But last year he showed he can play towards the ball as an opensider as well.”
Some good news on the injury front for the Stormers is that Eben Etzabeth and Jean Kleyn should be fit and ready to do this weekend. But No 5 lock Ruan Botha could be out because of concussion, while his lock partner in the Lions match Jurie van Vuuren could be out for “three or four weeks” because of a shoulder injury.
Wing Kobus van Wyk may also be considered for Saturday if he comes through unscathed this week. - Cape Times