There is still no sign that Schalk Burger will return to action after 12 months on the sidelines, according to Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
Sport24
Early last year, Burger suffered a knee injury which has since healed.
But then three weeks ago, he suffered a calf injury and Coetzee said on Wednesday that he was unable to forecast when the burly Springbok flanker will be ready to lead the Stormers.
“Schalk’s knee is fine and it is stronger than ever but although he’s training, he’s not ready to play,” said Coetzee.
“Schalk will not be considered for next week’s match against the Brumbies and we don’t really want to guess when he will be playing.
“There are improvements in terms of his fitness and his strength, but it’s not where it should be.”
A number of first-choices, most notably No 8 Duane Vermeulen, did not participate in Wednesday’s training session in Bellville.
“All the players sitting on the benches are nursing niggles, but nothing serious,” Coetzee said.
“All the players will be up for selection against the Brumbies, and we’ll have Jaco (Taute), Juan (De Jongh) and Michael Rhodes back.
“We have a bye this week and that gives us a chance to reflect and work on the things that will decide how we’ll play against the Brumbies.
Coetzee said that his team won’t be carried away by their superb display against the reigning champions, the Chiefs, last weekend.
“Our players have a culture of strong defence but we also know that we won’t keep on winning matches by simply kicking penalties.
“We’ve had a slight tweak in mindset and that has allowed us to play more with the ball. That, however, makes us prone to mistakes and we’re still working hard to find the balance between defence and attack.
“It is unlikely that there will be changes for the Brumbies game because we need to build the confidence of players. We’ve seen what confidence has done for a player like (Damian) De Allende. Earlier this year, I’ve heard people saying that De Allende is a good Currie Cup player but after three games he’s shown that he belongs in Super Rugby.
“Now with Bryan (Habana) out we’ve got to think about who will play in our backline. Juan and Jaco are coming back and with Joe Pietersen having a 100% place-kicking record, we’ll have to find place for him on the field.
Coetzee said flyhalf Elton Jantjies will not be given the place-kicking duties while Pietersen was proving to be reliable and he would still be the first-choice No 10 for a while.
“Peter Grant has flown in from Japan and in recent weeks he hasn’t played much rugby there,” said Coetzee.
“He showed when he came on as a substitute against the Chiefs that he has attacking flair and nearly cracked the defence to score try.
“He still needs to work on game playing (fitness) levels.”
The Brumbies, under coach Jake White, are arriving in Cape Town on Saturday.
elcamino
ROOILEEU
Tina
logan
Deon
Thomas_Bulls
garyj1-Bulls
Amethyst
Aldo
Methos The French Stormer
KingPaul
JT_BOKBEFOK!
trevormayhew
RUGGA_MIND
Pokkel
Quinn25
namboer
Marcel
Jacques(Bunny)Somtimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits
moose
Vernonimous
Pom in Joburg
Watte
niekie
Dante
Panther
Vetgesmeerde Blits
bryce_in_oz
Kozac
Blokkies
Number12_Lions
Brutus2
Lehe6
Estian Nortier
DavidS
johanleroux13
Morné
Tafelberg
pietstreak
Ollie
Koos
March 14th, 2013 at 9:52 am
After a year Schalk is still struggling with upping his strength? Something’s not right here.
By the way, you can recover from a complete knee replacement quicker than it takes Schalk to recover from an injury. This looks more and more like another Juan Smith episode.
March 14th, 2013 at 10:20 am
Reply to Craven @ 9:52 am:
Really?
I’ve never recovered from my 3rd knee op… and I’m not playing pro rugby…
March 14th, 2013 at 10:25 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 10:20 am:
This the same Schalk that ‘brushed off’ a neck injury that destroyed guys like Tim Dlulane and more…
March 14th, 2013 at 11:02 am
I broke my ankle in amateur rugby in 2001 – never played again and can’t run with out problems & still have issues while guys like Snyman broke his 3 times and still came back to play for the bokke – there are injuries and injuries…
No sense in comparing.
March 14th, 2013 at 12:09 pm
I agree with you Craven it’s been a year and he is still he is not ready. He has to recover otherwise the stormers is going to struggle with the super 15 with out sculks leadership and strengths in the forwards they are not going to succeed.
Schalk is a vital player in the stormers line up and if schalk doesn’t recover then the stormers is going to fail I’m sad to say it because I’m a stormer but it is true
March 14th, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I agree with you Craven it’s been a year and he is still not ready. He has to recover otherwise the stormers is going to struggle with the super 15 with out sculks leadership and strengths in the forwards they are not going to succeed.
Schalk is a vital player in the stormers line up and if schalk doesn’t recover then the stormers is going to fail I’m sad to say it because I’m a stormer but it is true
March 14th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 10:20 am:
“Really?
I’ve never recovered from my 3rd knee op… and I’m not playing pro rugby…”
My point exactly.
Maybe I was unclear in the point I am trying to get across. The fact that you have never recovered fully is what I fear is Schalk’s problem. He is taking too long to recover from this, just like with Juan Smith. He may never fully recover, the same as your experience.
March 14th, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Reply to Estian Nortier @ 12:10 pm:
Schalk will definitely be missed for more than just his playing, that’s for sure.
March 14th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
Ek is nie seker wie die dokter(kwak) is wat die WP/Stormer spelers diagnoseer en behandel nie, maar ek hoop die Stormers fire hom dadelik! Of iemand anders lieg vir ons? Ek sal vir Schalk n regverdige kans gee, hy het mis genoeg rugby die afgelope 5jaar gespeel om ten minste nog so 20 goeie games in daai lyf van hom te he.
March 15th, 2013 at 11:49 am
Reply to Craven @ 3:27 pm:
Got ya…
Yeah hope this isn’t the case… seems so long ago now… but he was on fire before the injury…