Schalk Burger
DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has hinted that veteran Schalk Burger could be in line for a return to the openside flank role that he filled for so long for the Springboks, but it would require a big shift in emphasis for the 2004 winner of the IRB World Rugby Player of the Year Award.
Coetzee finds himself faced with a difficult balancing act as he considers his loose-forward options of Saturday’s opening Vodacom Super Rugby tour match against the Highlanders in Dunedin. Duane Vermeulen, who brings so much of the necessary drive and physicality to the back row, is being rested as per the agreement with Saru geared towards effective management of Springboks.
That means that Nizaam Carr will move from openside flank to No 8, something that Coetzee confirmed in an interview with the Cape media from the team hotel in Dunedin. Carr played for the Boks in that position last year and was 1 of the form players in the Currie Cup for the title winning Western Province team, but having him at the back of the scrum does bring a different dynamic to the back row.
He is the direct antithesis of Vermeulen in the sense that he is a passing, linking type of No 8, and while Coetzee mentioned the possibility of having either Burger or Kolisi to replace Carr in the No 6 jersey, he also said before the team’s departure that he didn’t like the idea of having Burger and Carr in the same starting combination.
“You have to look at the balance of the combination, and Schalk and Nizaam are at the moment too similar in playing style to perhaps field in the same loose trio,” said Coetzee.
However, it could work if Burger sets himself the task of returning to his old abrasive, hard edged approach that made him such a scourge to opponents for most of the many years that he was the 1st choice Bok openside flank. The alternative would be to play Kolisi there and start with Michael Rhodes on the blindside flank, a possibility that would depend on the latter’s readiness to start after coming back from injury.
“Mikey is looking fit and we have 4 loose-forwards available, so I have some things to think about when it comes to the loose-trio configuration,” said the coach.
“We can go with either Schalk or Siya on the openside and have Michael at No 7, or we could go for Siya as the openside and have Schalk at 7, with Mikey coming off the bench. I think that Mikey could give us good impact in the 2nd half. But I haven’t made up my mind yet. At this stage what is certain is that Nizaam will play No 8.”
What is also certain, according to Coetzee, is that Nic Groom and Demetri Catrakilis will be back in the saddle as the starting halfback combination, after Louis Schreuder and Kurt Coleman wore the No 9 and No 10 against the Chiefs.
“The selection for the Chiefs game at halfback was based around rotation, but we will definitely return to Demetri and Nic this weekend. It has nothing to do with the fact that we lost to the Chiefs, but rather with the challenge that we are facing this week. The Forsyth Barr is a closed venue and the plan we have revolves around kicking the ball in behind them. It is important for us to have a good kick and chase this weekend and Demetri did well for us in the 1st 4 games.”
SuperSport