Ahead of tonight's Test between the All Blacks and South Africa, Schalk Burger reflects on a rugby rivalry like no other.
The first time I chatted with Schalk Burger was midway through the second half of a Tri-Nations Test match in Hamilton. The Springboks had dominated the All Blacks on that rain-slicked evening back in 2009, and the thunderclap boot of Frans Steyn had kept the scoreboard ticking over. The result of the match was a foregone conclusion when the call was made to drag Burger from the field with a handful of minutes remaining. He jogged off, smiling, and our paths crossed at the entrance to the player tunnel.
Burger had been typically uncompromising in the match. A renowned defender, tough as old biltong with a battle-hardened bloodline, Burger on the field was the embodiment of a childhood nightmare; monstrous and imposing, hiding behind rucks and waiting around corners, ready to tear flesh, break bones, dominate. Off the field, though, he was gregarious and charming, unfailingly polite, quick to laugh and always — always — smiling.
He was smiling when he saw me, and when I complimented him on his performance. He remained smiling when I asked why he had been subbed off. He grabbed my hand and placed it on his rib cage, from which one rib, or possibly two, had tried to escape. The lump was the size of a tennis ball. I recoiled in horror. Schalk Burger laughed.
In a career that spanned 14 seasons and four Rugby World Cups, Burger pulled on the Springbok jersey 86 times. He faced the All Blacks on 16 of those occasions, and savoured success against the New Zealanders five times. In all, he epitomised the Calvinist essence of Springbok rugby and, indeed, the uncomplicated nature of the contest between the sides which was, and remains, a revolvers-at-dawn duel between the two great stylistic strands of rugby's DNA.
Fourteen years later and we meet again in Auckland where he will be a part of Super Sport South Africa's television commentary team. The smile has not diminished and yes, the lump is still there.
Schalk, can you tell me why this rivalry is so important to you personally?
I just think it's in the blood of both nations, and in my case it is literally in the blood. My first memory of rugby between South Africa and New Zealand came from an old VHS that was so worn out I think it was held together with sticky tape. It was a recording of my father playing for the Boks against the New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986. He played six times for the Boks but those matches against the Cavaliers would be the last the Springboks played until 1992. Fittingly, South Africa’s first opponent back was the All Blacks.
The Rugby World Cup in 1995 left an indelible mark, too. I was twelve at the time and quite aside from South Africa's victory, I vividly remember Zinzan Brooke kicking a dropped goal against England in the semifinal. Everybody else remembers Jonah Lomu running over Mike Catt, but that kick was extraordinary. Those moments and those match ups made such an impression on me. All I wanted to do was one day play against the All Blacks. I think it’s the same for every young player in South Africa.
We hear a lot in New Zealand about the All Blacks and how the players view their role in 'the legacy' of the jersey. Is there a similar sense of purpose for the Springboks?
I believe we have an almost identical point of view. Above all, if you are playing for the Boks you are a custodian of that jersey for a certain amount of time. It is about enhancing that jersey as much as possible and leaving the team in a better place than it was when you entered. I think that's very much the same philosophy the All Blacks have and so that understanding and mutual respect between us as nations and as teams makes this the ultimate rivalry.
You can see that respect immediately after a match between the two sides. New Zealand is our biggest challenge so thinking back to my time playing, for 80 minutes I wanted to fly around and kick guys' heads in but afterward we'd all grab a couple of beers and head to the All Blacks changing room and sit down with the guys we had just played against and have a chat. Those were always very special times though unfortunately, I often had to sit there with my tail between my legs!
I know you have enormous respect for the All Blacks but do you think the All Blacks have the same respect for the Springboks as a team?
Absolutely. You know In 2005 we were the first team to face Kapa O Pango, and given everything going through our minds before the match and with the adrenaline at full flow, we didn't realise the magnitude of that in the moment, but we watched it back after the game and understood how respectful that was toward us. They were expecting the biggest challenge of their lives and it was up to us to give it to them. This may sound like a strange way to put it, but our approach has always been to not let the All Blacks down. They want a challenge. Give them that challenge.
I had thought about these teams as the two separate strands of the game's stylistic DNA. Would you agree that South Africa's style is representative of a certain kind of national personality?
I would 100% agree with that, and I think it's good for world rugby that there are different styles. People criticise the Springboks sometimes for the way they play but what you must realise is that, from a South African point of view, everything in the match is a competition: the scrum, the lineout, the lineout maul, every breakdown. We want to be physical in every one of those moments and use whatever physical advantage we have. The way we defend is also emblematic of this approach — we want to go up and get you, and there is no backing down.
We know Springbok sides and South African rugby in general can improve in certain areas and maybe add a bit more subtlety but we can't be the All Blacks. It's not in our DNA. All of us as South Africans sit back sometimes and think, 'I wish we could play such beautiful rugby as the All Blacks' but it's not meant to be that way, and so what we can do is provide a different kind of challenge.
We want to play a way that empowers us and makes it easy for us to understand. And often we want teams to run at us. We want guys to engage us. We don't want people to run around us or to kick the ball away. We seek that contact. It's the way we were brought up and it's the way our system works. It is incredibly competitive and physically demanding right from the start. None of us are wrapped in cotton wool.
You faced the All Blacks 16 times in your career (won 5, lost 11) but was there one game that still lingers in the memory more than the others?
I think the first time my generation beat the All Blacks in New Zealand which was in 2008 in Dunedin — the first time a South African side had won at Carisbrook. Ricky Januarie scored the winning try that night and the 30-28 victory gave our team an enormous sense of self-belief, even if we did end up on the wrong side of the ledger more than we would have liked!
I think back on those years and we had two cracking sides that were often number one and number two in the world. The All Blacks were immune to having bad years, and we had one or two wobbles over the same period but some of the greatest ever to play were regular selections over that time. That's the way we wanted it though, to play each and every time against the very best. I can still remember playing Richie McCaw for the first time, back in 2003. I was young and full of confidence but that game in particular made me realise that an All Blacks Test was on a very different level to anything else.
It was tough enough not to be dominated by your opposite and then there were the guys you were trying to get to as well! I mean Dan Carter says I tried to kill him but I couldn't get to him enough! If only he knew how much I was trying.
A nice trip down memory lane mate, so now to the task at hand: can the Springboks win on Saturday?
It is an interesting match up as it always is when we play the All Blacks and the home side will be under a lot more pressure than they were last week against Argentina. If the All Blacks can execute their skillset under that intense pressure then they will fancy themselves a real chance to win this weekend, but if the error rate climbs and they don't deal with that pressure then the Springboks are in with a shout. I can only discuss what I see in this team and it means everything it meant to my generation and more. We have players in club teams all over the world but when they are back as Springboks, preparing to play the All Blacks, well these weeks are as big as they get.
By Scotty Stevenson
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