The Stormers were determined to mark their super centurion’s achievement with a victory today when Schalk Burger ran on against the Highlanders in his 100th Super Rugby appearance.
“We all want to do our best for Schalk,” Springbok and Stormers flanker Siya Kolisi said earlier this week.
Kolisi recently retweeted a photograph of himself, dating back to 2005, as an eager Grey High pupil getting Burger’s autograph at a signing session.
“It’s an honour and a privilege playing with Schalk – everyone knows he’s been my hero since I was young, and now I’m sharing this game with him. He wanted us to focus on the team (this week) but we want to play well and make it special for him. He’s been a role model, on and off the field, and we all respect him for what he’s done. We want to play out of our boots because we know how special he is.”
Playing out of his boots is what saw Burger voted the World Rugby player of 2004, just one season after making his international debut.
Corné Krige was the captain of both South Africa and the Stormers in 2003 when 20-year-old Burger first tore across the rugby landscape like a tornado.
“I remember Schalk had just made it into the World Cup squad, and he was still a youngster,” said the 39-Test former Bok skipper.
“In one game he was just phenomenal, and I sent his dad a message after the game congratulating him on the way Schalk had played and saying I believed that he was going to become a legend in South African rugby. It didn’t take a genius to see that, he did the right things instinctively.”
During his career, Krige held nothing back in trying to advance the Bok cause as a selfless openside flanker and he believes that Burger’s longevity, in spite of playing with an even more reckless mentality, is what makes the achievement so special.
“A lot of guys play rugby for a long period of time, but not many of them play the style of rugby that Schalk plays – one of sheer disrespect for his own personal health.
“Every game he goes out, he puts his body on the line like it doesn’t matter whether he gets up. That’s what’s amazing about Schalk Burger.”
Just as amazing is Burger’s Jekyll-and-Hyde ability to switch from savage competitor to consummate socialite at the blast of the final whistle.
“Schalk is a beast on the field,” said current Bok captain and long-time Western Province teammate Jean de Villiers. “But he’s a totally different guy off the field – he’s relaxed and gets on with everyone, and he holds no grudges for whatever happens on the field.”
“Schalk gets that right in a big way,” added Krige. “The one unique thing about rugby that a lot of people don’t get is that you have to be a bit of a pig on the field – you need to have a bit of gutter in you – but when you step across the white line off the field, you should be able to have a beer with the opposition.”
Burger has faced and conquered some stiff opponents and serious injury setbacks during his career, but none as grave as the bacterial meningitis that nearly claimed his life in 2013.
Two years on, Burger has adjusted his settings from maximum performance towards maximum battery life and today he joined De Villiers, Andries Bekker and Peter Grant in an exclusive club of four members who have played 100 matches for the Stormers.
“When we talk about Schalk Burger and what he means to Western Province and the Stormers over the years, it’s one helluva true warrior,” said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
The 31-year-old’s miraculous recovery from illness and return to top-flight rugby was recognised when he was nominated for the Laureus Comeback Player of the Year award earlier this month. While Burger admitted that he “picks his moments” these days, De Villiers believes that the grizzled flanker is as resilient as ever.
“Schalk’s toughness is showcased by how he dealt with what he went through with the illness,” said De Villiers. “That’s just the person that he is, he has unbelievable fight in him and was still able to get through it as if nothing happened without complaining for one single day about it.
“When Schalk came on the scene, he transformed the game with the way he played his position. A lot of open-siders have since approached it in the same way that Schalk first did and they throw themselves at anything. But, like any player, he’s become more streetwise with experience.”
Burger might not be the ferocious breakdown brute he was in 2005 but, a decade later, he has made up for it by honing the skills required to play more of a linking role.
Given everything he’s gone through, it seems unthinkable that Burger might one day hang up his boots of his own free will.
De Villiers shares Burger’s desire to play the game he loves for as long as possible. “While we’re still enjoying the game and we’re still passionate about it there’s no need to talk about retiring,” he said. “Schalk and I always joke that he’ll probably keep going until he ends up playing four-lock for Boland one day. Hey, you never know...”