Schalk Burger: Doesn't dominate collisions Schalk Burger: Doesn't dominate collisions
John Goliath
SCHALK BURGER was named the Man of the Match against Wales this past weekend, but he won’t be in my Springbok starting line-up to face the All Blacks in their World Cup semi-final this coming Saturday.
I’ve always been a big fan of Schalk as a sportsman and a person ever since I replaced him in the Boland Central Under-13 cricket team in 1995, after he dislocated his shoulder in a bike accident.
That was the highlight of my sports career, but Schalk has gone on to become a world champion, and will go down as one of the legends of Bok and Western Province rugby.
But I was a little surprised that he got the award on Saturday night. When I also mentioned on Twitter that he wasn’t performing well, I got a reply from a follower saying, “ watter game kyk jy?”
Yes, the blonde loose forward got through a ton of work like he usually does and he made a lot of tackles, carries and offloads. In fact, he made 26 carries, 11 more than any other player on the field.
But as Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela famously said, “statistics are like a bikini, they don’t reveal everything”.
How many of those carries actually put the Boks on the front foot and gave them the necessary momentum to go through, or around, Wales?
Schalk just doesn’t dominate the collisions like he did 10 years ago. He now backs into most tackles and gets driven back by the opposition defenders. And if we take the bikini top off, he only managed gainline success 11 times from those 26 carries against the Welsh.
He also gave away a silly penalty and kicked away possession when the Boks had an overlap on the counter-attack in the second half.
The fact that the Boks use Schalk at first-receiver is also one the reasons why their attack is suffering, a lot like the Stormers suffered in this year’s Super Rugby when he took the ball at No 10.
That little pop pass when he takes it to the line is as predictable as an episode of Egoli, and Wales could tackle the Boks back because they simply knew what was coming next.
Schalk, like all of South Africa’s ball-carriers, should rather be running off Handré Pollard, the playmaker, the man with the No 10 on his back. It’s what the All Blacks got right against France, when they enjoyed good, quality ball.
Dan Carter is the All Blacks’ linchpin, the player who directs their play with either his running game, passing game or kicking game.
Forwards don’t get in his way when the All Blacks have front-foot ball, and they certainly don’t easily take the ball back into an area of the field where all the traffic is blocking the highway to the tryline.
The All Blacks also love defending against one-off runners, especially those who come at them from a standing start, because they can tackle them back and attack the ball via Richie McCaw or a counter-ruck. And we all know how devastating they can be from turnover ball.
New Zealand were simply sublime in finding the space against France because of a vintage display by Carter, who has suddenly clicked into a higher gear in the playoffs.
The way Carter varies his game ... it was like watching a conductor taking his orchestra on a journey that lead to nine superb crescendos. The Boks, on the other hand, could only produce one moment of magic.
Because the Boks won’t be able to match the All Blacks in terms of creating those magic moments on Saturday evening – or won’t even try to do so – I would rather go with Willem Alberts on the side of the scrum than Schalk. The All Blacks are fierce at the point of contact, and you need to have a guy who can match their physicality there.
It will also give the Bok loose trio some balance, because it will free Francois Louw up from his carrying duties to concentrate more on competing for possession on the ground.
Schalk would be a better option off the bench because of the energy and experience he can bring in the second half, which is going to be vital if the Boks stand any chance of getting over the line on Saturday.
Send your views to john.goliath@inl.co.za