Johannesburg: Schalk Burger will captain South Africa against New Zealand in Johannesburg this weekend, coach Heyneke Meyer announced yesterday.
Loose forward Burger replaces Victor Matfield after the veteran lock suffered a hamstring injury during a defeat by Australia in Brisbane last weekend.
The Springboks tackle greatest rivals the All Blacks at Ellis Park stadium Saturday in a Rugby Championship second-round clash likely to draw a sell-out 62,000 crowd.
Matfield had been deputising for centre and first-choice captain Jean de Villiers, who is recuperating after knee reconstruction surgery.
De Villiers and Matfield are two of many injury concerns for Meyer less than two months before the Rugby World Cup kicks off in England.
New Zealand are the bookmakers’ favourites to retain the trophy they won in Auckland four years ago with England and South Africa next highest on the betting boards.
Burger is a 32-year-old Western Stormers and Springboks stalwart who has won 76 caps, scored 14 Test tries, and can play in his preferred flanker position or at No. 8
He made his international debut in a 2003 World Cup match against Georgia in Sydney.
After many seasons of Test rugby, the son of a former Springbok overcame a serious injury and recovered from a life-threatening illness to regain his green-and-gold shirt.
“I am a proud man today, and at the same time humbled by the faith the coach has shown in me,” Burger told a media briefing at a Johannesburg college.
“Since first putting on the Springbok jersey, my dream has been to represent my country with distinction and to make South Africans proud.
“It is still sinking in that I will actually captain my country.
“This is an honour bestowed on a select few rugby players and I will do whatever is needed for the team.
“With the captaincy comes massive responsibility, and I am very excited for Saturday,” added Burger.
Meyer said: “Schalk has been a magnificent servant of Springbok rugby and fully deserves this responsibility.
“The resilience he has shown in coming back from serious injury and illness is the kind of quality I look for in players as well as teams I coach.
“To me, the captaincy is very important and something I never take lightly or want to cheapen.
“The fact that Schalk has been a role model for so many down the years made this an easy decision.
“He has always led through example and distinguished himself as one the best leaders in South African rugby during the past decade.
“I am very excited to see what he can bring in the absence of Jean (de Villiers) and Victor (Matfield).”
The South Africa-New Zealand fixture is a highlight of the annual Rugby Championship, which includes Argentina and Australia.
Reduced from six rounds to three this year because of the World Cup, the southern hemisphere championship began last weekend with home victories for New Zealand and Australia. AFP
