Captain Schalk Burger has endured more pain fighting for the Stormers’ good name than any other player in the franchises’ history and he is not ready to quit yet.
The Stormers have a guaranteed quarterfinal against an as yet unnamed New Zealand team next weekend‚ and the skipper believes that something special is brewing at Newlands.
The Stormers have never won Super Rugby‚ not for lack of trying on Burger’s part‚ but they are far from being obvious contenders in 2016 thanks to their callow team.
Burger will lead them against the Kings on Saturday in their final pool match and is likely to continue the role in next weekend’s quarterfinal.
It is also likely to be his last appearance at Newlands because any advancement into the semifinals should still see the Stormers playing away.
The 33-year-old Burger‚ who has played 121 games for the Stormers‚ will join Saracens later this year.
He feels that the union is in good shape‚ as his departure looms closer.
“There are certain things that happen in a season and this is a young team beginning to create its own legacy‚” Burger said.
“We scored the most points ever in Australia (beating the Rebels 57-31) and we had two bonus point wins on tour‚ even though it was a short tour.
“We are improving bit by bit‚ not only on the field but also with the culture off the field.
The players are beginning to understand what this team stands for and we’re starting to understand why we are winning.
“When you are playing week-in and week-out‚ it’s often difficult to analyse ‘why’ something happened because you’re so busy preparing for the next challenge.
“The June break came at a good time so we could look at some of the reasons we lost to the Waratahs and the Sharks earlier in the year when we didn’t actually play poorly.
“We’ve got to the bottom of it‚ but this is a young team and sometimes we react well to pressure and sometimes we don’t.”
And regardless of what happens in the coming weeks‚ Burger believes that the foundation at the union is strong.
“It’s not about me‚ it’s about this new generation of Stormers players‚” Burger said.
“It’s always tough to compare generations and I’ve played in some good teams. When I started I played alongside (current coach) Robbie Fleck in the early 2000s and later in 2010 through to 2012.
“When you look at the talent pool at WP‚ our Craven Week side are again having a great tournament‚ then you understand how phenomenal the potential is.
“There are 20-years-olds here that have more talent than they realise and are far better players than my generation ever were at that age.
“So the trick in the current rugby climate in SA (with the weak rand and interest from overseas clubs) is to keep the team together.
“I’ve played in very talented teams and we have given ourselves some good chances to win Super Rugby in the past and that says something about the standard of coaching here.
“Despite a high turnover of players for various reasons‚ we are usually in the mix and there is a good culture here.
“Let’s see how far we can go this year. We all know what we want to achieve but we won’t look beyond this weekend against the Kings.”
— TMG Digital
Old man Burger keeps on giving for Stormer's new culture
Captain Schalk Burger has endured more pain fighting for the Stormers’ good name than any other player in the franchises’ history and he is not ready to quit yet.
The Stormers have a guaranteed quarterfinal against an as yet unnamed New Zealand team next weekend‚ and the skipper believes that something special is brewing at Newlands.
The Stormers have never won Super Rugby‚ not for lack of trying on Burger’s part‚ but they are far from being obvious contenders in 2016 thanks to their callow team.
Burger will lead them against the Kings on Saturday in their final pool match and is likely to continue the role in next weekend’s quarterfinal.
It is also likely to be his last appearance at Newlands because any advancement into the semifinals should still see the Stormers playing away.
The 33-year-old Burger‚ who has played 121 games for the Stormers‚ will join Saracens later this year.
He feels that the union is in good shape‚ as his departure looms closer.
“There are certain things that happen in a season and this is a young team beginning to create its own legacy‚” Burger said.
“We scored the most points ever in Australia (beating the Rebels 57-31) and we had two bonus point wins on tour‚ even though it was a short tour.
“We are improving bit by bit‚ not only on the field but also with the culture off the field.
The players are beginning to understand what this team stands for and we’re starting to understand why we are winning.
“When you are playing week-in and week-out‚ it’s often difficult to analyse ‘why’ something happened because you’re so busy preparing for the next challenge.
“The June break came at a good time so we could look at some of the reasons we lost to the Waratahs and the Sharks earlier in the year when we didn’t actually play poorly.
“We’ve got to the bottom of it‚ but this is a young team and sometimes we react well to pressure and sometimes we don’t.”
And regardless of what happens in the coming weeks‚ Burger believes that the foundation at the union is strong.
“It’s not about me‚ it’s about this new generation of Stormers players‚” Burger said.
“It’s always tough to compare generations and I’ve played in some good teams. When I started I played alongside (current coach) Robbie Fleck in the early 2000s and later in 2010 through to 2012.
“When you look at the talent pool at WP‚ our Craven Week side are again having a great tournament‚ then you understand how phenomenal the potential is.
“There are 20-years-olds here that have more talent than they realise and are far better players than my generation ever were at that age.
“So the trick in the current rugby climate in SA (with the weak rand and interest from overseas clubs) is to keep the team together.
“I’ve played in very talented teams and we have given ourselves some good chances to win Super Rugby in the past and that says something about the standard of coaching here.
“Despite a high turnover of players for various reasons‚ we are usually in the mix and there is a good culture here.
“Let’s see how far we can go this year. We all know what we want to achieve but we won’t look beyond this weekend against the Kings.”
— TMG Digital
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos