According to Stormers senior coach Rassie Erasmus, Springbok flanker Schalk Burger will captain the Western Cape Super 14 franchise the Stormers in 2010.

Addressing a media gathering at Newlands on Tuesday, Erasmus revealed that Burger is the “front runner” to taker over from Jean de Villiers as Stormers skipper - with the Bok midfielder having joined up with Irish province Munster.

With Luke Watson, who took over as Currie Cup captain while the Boks were on international duty, having joined up with English club Bath, nit left a vacancy at both No.8 and in the captaincy department.

“Schalk [Burger] is the front runner,” Erasmus said.

He pointed to Burger’s contribution in coming on as a second-half replacement in the Currie Cup semifinal loss (19-21) to the Blue Bulls at the weekend.

“You could see when he came onto the field [last] Saturday, he is a great leader,” Erasmus said, adding: “He has the most Test caps in our team [50].

“He really relates well to the whole management set-up, he understands our systems and he is a province boy through-and-through.

“Nothing is finalised yet, but it would be a really big surprise if we don’t appoint Schalk Burger [as captain],” Erasmus added.

He also pointed out that Burger, along with Duane Vermeulen, as likely to fulfill the No.8 role played by Watson in the Currie Cup and Super 14 this year.

“The way we coach at Western Province and the Stormers is not to have a specialist openside, but for the whole team to contest [at the breakdown].

“Yes, there is this whole debate about the openside flank. But we practice from 15 to one to see if everyone can make the decision to contest on the ground.

“So, if we play opposition that is strong in the line-out, it would be wonderful to have Duane [Vermeulen], Flouw [Francois Louw] and Schalk [Burger], who can all contest in the line-outs. However, if we play against a Brussowtjie [Bok poacher Heinrich Brüssow], then a guy like Pieter Myburgh, or a Poerie [Conraad] Britz, or somebody like that can come into the mix.

“Then there’s still a Peter Louw who can jump in the line-outs.

“It will differ from game to game, but overall, our opinion is the man that plays No.8 must be able to handle the ball at the back of the scrum, because with our defence system it is pretty similar if you play No.6, No.7 or No.8.

“At the moment, if you can handle the ball at the back of the scrum and then pick it up and get go forward, there Schalk can do it for us and Duane can do it for us. It may vary from game to game, but it should basically be between Schalk and Duane.”

Erasmus also revealed that Springbok centre Jaque Fourie, who won his arbitration case against the Golden Lions, is the only remaining recruit to sign on the dotted line for next year.

“We will have only three new signings - Lionel Cronjé [the Cheetahs Under-21 flyhalf], [Bok wing] Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie, now that we can actually talk to him,” Erasmus said.

He added that he is pretty happy with the depth his team has, even having lost players like Watson and De Villiers to the lure of the Euro.

“This team came close to a team that won the Super 14 Final by 60 points,” he said about the WP side that lost to the Bulls in the Currie Cup semifinal.

The Bulls team that won at Newlands last Saturday showed just one difference from the side that put 60 points past the Chiefs in the Super 14 Final in May.

“If you can come this close to a team with so many Springboks, then you can be pretty competitive,” Erasmus said, pointing out that several star players must still come back from injury.

Those include lock Adriaan Fondse, converted wing Nick Koster, Springbok fullback Conrad Jantjes, utility back Dylan des Fountain, midfielder Morgan Newman and flyhalf Willem de Waal.

“With all those boys back, then it should be a really competitive team.

“We are going into next year pretty close to where I wanted us to be - with momentum, experienced players and a confident team,” Erasmus added.

Source: rugby365.com

Tags: schalk burger, stormers