Schalk out until January
19 Jun 2006
Springbok flank Schalk Burger has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2006 season after suffering a career-threatening neck injury against Scotland.
This was confirmed by a shell-shocked Jake White at Monday’s press conference in Cape Town.
“This morning I was told Schalk would be out for three weeks,” said the coach. “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.”
Burger injured himself in the 18th minute of Saturday’s Test against Scotland when his head collided with a Scottish player’s hip, but continued to play despite the discomfort. It was only once he had cooled off after the game that he realised something was wrong.
“Schalk got injured early on, but didn’t think it was too serious,” said White. “On the plane trip to Cape Town, 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 complained that his entire body was sore and when he started getting pins and needles down one side, we got worried.”
Burger now requires a neck fushion operation, which is as serious as it sounds.
“They have to take bone from his hip,” said White. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but there’s a chance he may never play again.
“This again 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 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].
“Look at how many of the 2002 SA U21 squad are hurt – Ashwin Willemse, Gurthro Steenkamp … Gordon Gilfilan had to have a cruciate ligament replacement, Clyde Rathbone was out for a year, Ricky Januarie missed last year’s end of year tour, Juan Smith has injured before … the list just goes on and on. We need to develop our players properly physically or this will keep happening.
“Yes, Schalk’s was a freak injury, but so was Ashwin’s and so was Gurthro’s. The fact is 22 and 23 year olds are picking up freak injuries playing against 28 year olds.”
White confirmed he would not replace Burger, despite earlier speculation that Lions captain Wikus van Heerden would rejoin the Bok squad.
“I’m happy with what I’ve got,” he said. “Joe van Niekerk, Pedrie Wannenburg and Jacque Cronje are all in the squad. The fact is you need three or four players to replace a guy like Schalk. Schalk’s stats were twice as good as any other Bok on Saturday, and that’s despite playing 60 minutes with a neck injury.”
Meanwhile, White confirmed that Andre Snyman had recovered from an injury to his right wrist and would probably play against France. Breyton Paulse’s fitness will be assessed later in the week, while Bakkies Botha and Jaque Cronje both resumed training on Monday.
By Simon Borchardt, in Cape Town
427 Comments
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20 Jun 2006, 10:59 am
I have not read all the posts cozz that will just be ridiculous…but I agree with Vinnie on Jake that he seems to rather than admit to shortcomings he makes excuses…..
Sometimes I get the impression (and only sometimes) that Jake is too proud……..when something goes wrong in my department the first place I look where what went wrong or not perfect or could have been better is me…….
20 Jun 2006, 11:00 am
Just because you dont agree there’s no reaosn to insult mate.
You’re more than welcome to give your opinion, should you have one.
20 Jun 2006, 11:00 am
Vinnie, I donno, I’m not the sharing type…
20 Jun 2006, 11:02 am
397…
cab just think about what you’re saying regarding end of season tours.
Exacept for Oz and Nz the rest of our home wins came from playing NH sides who were playing at the end of THEIR seasons when they were shattered.
Hows that for perspective.
20 Jun 2006, 11:08 am
vinnie
Im with cab on this one. 13 on the trot is commendable in anyones books. Cmon mate this is pro rugby – burnout bullshit! The Irish just came over to NZ and put up a hell of a fight.
Give your team some credit for once. You bok fans are so tuff on your team
20 Jun 2006, 11:10 am
NZM,
Mate I used to post on silverfern… so I think I know what been hard on your team is…
20 Jun 2006, 11:11 am
Vinnie 404,
Not the best example though…….although agree with your views on Jake and his soccer like boring rugby, you post 404 does not make too much sense….
“Bar NZ and AUS all our other home games were NH sides at the end of their season…” Well who else is there?
We are good at home, that granted……But as good as we are at home….we are poor at best come YET…..and the sides we beat comfortably were a injury ridden Welsh team and a second string Argentina team……..
2004 we lost to Ireland, England and beat Wales by 2 points…..
20 Jun 2006, 11:14 am
Hmmm where were you yesterday?
Die naweek in die selle deur gebring?
20 Jun 2006, 11:15 am
Hmmm,
What I am saying is that we excuse the losses on the EOYT by saying its at the end of a gruelling season for us and that is why our away record is so poor.
What we fail to realise is that of our 13 game home winning streak a lot of the wins have come from teams who are touring SA at the end of their gruelling season.
Therefore they arent such fantastic wins because those teams are shattered at the end of their long season the same as we are at our EOYT.
I wonder how we would do if we hosted teams at the end of the year instead of touring. Might be the end of our record then.
20 Jun 2006, 11:18 am
Vinnie
Jake White thinks we are stupid.
He goes on and on about his fantastic home record.
But away from home we cant win.
The Bulls also had a terriffic record at Loftus. They however lost 3 games there this year.
I dont think SA is that intimidating a prospect for touring teams anymore.
The Brumbies, Canes and Crusaders won at Loftus this year. We are playing the AB’s there.
20 Jun 2006, 11:22 am
vinnie,
your perspective is nonsense. The NH teams play 1, maybe 2 matches in sunny SA after their season. In contrast we not only play the 3N, which is an entirely different prospect to the ^N, both in terms of travel and intensity, but afterwards we’re expeted to go on an extended NH tour, usually involving 4 or 5 different opponents.
if you want to blame someone for overplay, look to the administrators of our test schedule, not Jake White.
It is not White’s responsibility to rest players, it is his responsbility to field what he considers to be the best team available to him at any instant in time.
Thats why its called test match rugby, not experimental rugby or fantasy league.
20 Jun 2006, 11:23 am
Xkreni-WP,
You still haven’t answered my question, boet. You said that all we need now is Jean dV to join him….
And your explanation to that was that Schalla won’t win us the 3N or WC ???????
How could you wish a player to get injured just because you obviously hate the CT players ?
You are really a pathetic excuse of a rugby supporter…. Try and see things in a SA context and not just with a bluebull horn up your ***.
20 Jun 2006, 11:27 am
Kudu,
He’s a pathetic excuse for a human being with that attitude mate.
Wishing somebody ill is disgraceful.
20 Jun 2006, 11:28 am
cab,
As usual we’ll have to agree to disagree.
You think Jake pisses Jack Daniels and I dont.
Thats cool and there will never be an instance in SA Rugby where everybody agrees on everything.
20 Jun 2006, 11:31 am
Vinnie, ya ok, we’ll have to.
i think the wacky weed has influenced your perspective. White’s not perfect, but he’s done bloody well, not sure your criticisms are fair or logical.
20 Jun 2006, 11:31 am
Kudu
Moenie te hard wees op Xkreni-WP. Hy is stupid en het eers nou die dag regop begin loop. Hy het nog rowe op sy kneukles. Kry hom eerder jammer.
Cheers
20 Jun 2006, 11:35 am
You guys must be gerntle with old Xlreni-Wp. He’s a Bulls supporter living in Mossel Bay. Ver confused and slow.
20 Jun 2006, 11:51 am
Has it been mentioned Jason Leonard had this op after his first season in test rugby, and then played another 13 season of test rugby after?
20 Jun 2006, 11:52 am
that is very interesting gecko.
20 Jun 2006, 11:55 am
However, Leonard’s international career might well have ended before it began.
In May 1992, he had to undergo an operation to repair ruptured vertebrae in his neck.
The surgery – anterior cervical fusion – involved him having a piece of bone from his hip grafted to fuse two vertebrae in his neck.
That ruled him out for three months, but he did not miss any England action.
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/1658545.stm
20 Jun 2006, 11:57 am
The hip bone’s connected to the…
By Scrum’s John Taylor
09 November 2000
We were sitting in a pub in Putney. It was September 1992 and Jason Leonard was well on the road to recovery after an operation to fuse two vertebrae in his neck.
I was writing an article on his remarkable comeback and had offered to take him to a good restaurant. ‘No, let’s go to the pub, grab something simple and have a couple of beers – it’s only Tuesday and I’m not training tonight,’ he said, the trade mark smile lighting up his face.
He showed me the scar where they had taken a piece of bone from his hip to make the join between the vertebrae stronger and I told him I thought he was mad for even contemplating going back into the front-row after such damage. ‘Listen mate, I wouldn’t be doing it if there was any risk at all, the doctor says it’s stronger than it has ever been and that’ll do for me’ – again the huge grin.
A week later, after the article had appeared, I received a letter from one of the country’s top orthopaedic consultant surgeons. He had no doubts that Jason should not be allowed to play again. I quote, ‘ The front-row is a dangerous place even with a normal neck ……. There is no doubt in my mind that to return to rugby after anterior cervical fusion is not reasonable. It is not reasonable to the player himself and it is not reasonable to his opponents.’
It worried me to such an extent that I considered showing it to him but, knowing it would make no difference, I decided to tuck it away and say nothing. I thought he might manage a couple of seasons before being forced to quit and I figured he deserved that chance – after all he was still only 24, still a whipper-snapper in front row terms.
He will now admit that even he did not believe he would still be going strong eight years later – on the verge of becoming England’s most capped player. On Saturday he will equal Rory Underwood’s record of 85 caps and will break it against Argentina the following week.
That is particularly appropriate because he began his international career with three matches against Argentina and captained his country for the only time against them in 1996 marking the occasion with his only international try.
If he plays in every match this season he will equal Sean Fitzpatrick’s world record of 92 caps for a forward. Add in three Lions tests and he will overtake Serge Blanco to become the third most capped player of all time behind Philippe Sella and David Campese.
Only just 32, still a comparative whipper-snapper in propping terms – his old mate Jeff Probyn, who held the English record before Leonard, did not win the first of his 37 caps until he was almost 32 – he could easily become the most capped player of all time.
He cites ‘love of the game and adaptability – but don’t ask me to spell it’ as the secret of his success. His first club was Barking and he moved from there to Saracens and then Harlequins where he has been for the last decade. It was not the club one might have expected a jobbing carpenter to join but he is now part of the furniture.
His first caps were at loose-head but he moved to tight-head to accommodate Graham Rowntree in 1995 and has since moved back to loose-head. Amazingly, he has never missed a Five (Six) Nations match since his debut in the Championship in 1991 and missed only one match at all up until the disastrous 1998 summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere when he wisely decided to take a summer off.
There have been times when his position has been under threat but he has always adapted and come through. The only time I have seen him truly worried was when Jack Rowell took over as England coach. ‘He’s just said, ah Jason you’re accumulating a lot of caps with a big emphasis on the ‘accumulating’ – strange thing to say that, what do you think he means? pondered the troubled Leonard.
He soon worked it out and was noticeably more conspicuous outside the scrums and line-outs where props traditionally ply their trade. His weight has been as high as 18st 7lbs when power scrummaging was the priority but now he is back down to 17st 7lbs.
‘Props became huge and now, a couple of years later, guys have to be more rounded in what they achieve and, certainly, more athletic. You have to give and take a pass, make important tackles and even take tap penalties if you are the one nearest the ball,’ he says.
Testimony to that were the 14 tackles he made against France last season – a phenomenal number for a prop. He will admit to drinking much more fizzy water and far less beer than he used to during the season and is probably fitter than at any stage in his career. So, how long can he go on? As long as possible – he is still enjoying every moment and that piece of hip bone is still doing its job.
20 Jun 2006, 11:59 am
Vinnie 409, I hear ya….
20 Jun 2006, 12:19 pm
Cab 411,
Ireland are playing 3; 2 against the no 1 side and 1 against the no 4 side….
England playing 2 against the No 4 side…..
The rankings on the actual dates we played:
In our EOYT 2004 we played Wales (8th – won by 2 points) Ireland (6th – lost)) England (3rd – lost convincingly) Scotland (9th – a team that lost to Italy that year) Argentina (7th – fielded a 2nd stream side as all but one from the starting line-up was playing club rugby) – 3/5 victory’s if you count Argentina, which although it is an official test it was not up to standard. Could realistically be seen as 1 close scraped victory out of 3 first tier sides)
In 2005 we played Argentina (8th) Wales (6th) France (4th) (win rate 2/3)
To me Vinnie’s perspective makes more sense factually……
20 Jun 2006, 13:11 pm
Hmm,
you’ve just pointed out that we played 5 games. any match against argentina is a more than valid test match.
England played 2, Scotland played 2.
There is a difference between 2 and 5 test matches at the end of a season, especially in ****** conditions. Indeed perhaps we’d fair better if we only selected one of England, Ireland or France on our EOY schedule.
20 Jun 2006, 18:44 pm
#344 Mshiniwami – you must be a JZ supporter gotwa vuka mehlo wakho – when they are wide open , you will se a boy called Keegan Daniel playing at Kings Park . He may still be bafana , gotwa he’s the real deal . Check him out some time .
# 362 Xkreni WP – you are a 5 knuckle shuffling dork . Get a ****** life . I wish I was a dog and you were a tree or better still if I knew who you were , I could just walk up to you and piss a hole through your chest – ntsunu kanyoku !
20 Jun 2006, 19:16 pm
Xkreni Wp.Vir jou gaan ek nog dik moer!!!Pathetic rugby supporter,how do you justify taking pleasure in seeing Schalk Burger injured.If any player irrespective of which team he plays for picks up a serious injury,then that is tragic in any event.Get a life nobhead
21 Jun 2006, 01:44 am
Mehlomakulu i kno Keegan Daniel but he still too green to be rushed into boks plus physically he still is a bit of a lightweight but he is an outstanding prospect.one for the future of course.Masimba mani lawa owakulumayo,bhala kahle isiZulu sakho ungalahli ngathi ikwerekwere!Phindela esikoleni usifunde kahle.Khawulethe Umshini wami!!!
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