Burger, Shalk

The player's father, also Shalk Burger, represented the Springbox in the era of South African international isolation in the 1980s . Sr. Burger played Loka (second-line player). Burger Jr. was educated at the school Paarl Gimnasium, during his studies in which he demonstrated success in various sports.

Burger played in the youth team of South Africa (under 21), which became the 2002 world champion. In 2003, already being the captain of the youth composition, the athlete received a call to the first national team. Skalka’s debut in Sprigbox took place in the 2003 World Cup match against Georgia .

2004

Burger continued to play for the national team, the average age of the players has decreased markedly. The new coach, Jake White, was able to properly motivate the team for the three nations Cup games - the South Africans won the trophy for the first time since 1998, when Springbox was coached by Nick Mallett.

The athlete spent his best season, and representatives of the International Rugby Council did not ignore this fact. The player received the most prestigious personal award in the world of rugby - the title of Player of the Year . Burger became the youngest winner of this nomination. In addition, a native Port Elizabeth was recognized as the best South African player of the season.

2006

After the rather mediocre Super 14 season in 2006, in which Burger showed the beauty of his game only occasionally, the rugby player again got into the national team location for the upcoming games in the extended season of the Three Nations Cup . On June 17, 2006, in a test match with Scotland , Burger suffered a serious neck injury. The next day, it became obvious that the athlete needed surgery, and at least the rest of the season Burger will miss ^[1] . The injury and the operation were so severe that Coach White said: “I don’t want to make hasty conclusions, but there is a possibility that he will never be able to play again” ^{[2] [3]} . Burger's father told the Cape Town radio program that the damage lies between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae and added that a rather low position of the injury could be the key to a complete recovery ^[3] . On June 24, the day of the operation, the National Rugby Union reported on its successful implementation. It was also announced that the player expects to return to the field after six or eight months of rehabilitation ^[4] .

2007: World Cup

After recovery, the player returned to Stormerz. On January 13, 2007, the first game of Burger took place after the break. The athlete spent 55 minutes in a match with the Bulls . Burger's team lost, but the athlete had a good match and again showed some facets of his talent. The period of instability at the start of the season came to an end in the away match with Chefs : the team won, not without the participation of Burger, and scored the first points in the standings (21:16).

In the middle of the season, the player became part of the national team, which went to the French World Cup . There were rumors that at the end of the world championship a player could go to the English club Harlequins ^[5] . The first match of "Springbox" with the national team of Samoa became remarkable due to the forbidden reception (high capture), which Burger spent on Samoa Junior Paul. On September 11, the disciplinary committee decided to disqualify the South African player for four matches. Thus, Burger could play again only in the semifinals, if, of course, the team would have gone into this round. However, through the efforts of the South African side, the length of punishment was reduced to two matches ^[6] . Upon the expiration of the term, Burger returned to the lineup and, together with the team, became a world champion. In the final, the South African team beat the English (15: 6) and returned home with the Webb Ellis Cup . By participating in two world championships, South Africans won two.

2008–2009

In March 2008, Burger was punished again. This time, the reason was a conflict with the referee of the test zone in the guest match "Stormerz" against " Sharks " ^[7] . Insulted the referee reported the incident to the chief arbiter, who did not notice the violation. Leaving the field, Burger gestured and shouted in the direction of the referee of the test area. As a result, the athlete received a two-week suspension. At the end of the season, Stormerz did not make it to the playoffs, but were close to that. New springbox coach Peter de Villiers called Burger to the three nations Cup games - 2008 .

In 2009, Burger got into the application "Springbox" for the match against the national team " British and Irish Lions ". Prior to that, the player did not enter the field for a long time, because in April he injured his lower leg ^[8] . In the first minute of the match against Lviv, Burger touched the eyes of Briton Luke Fitzgerald. The referee of the scoring zone, Bryce Lawrence, noticed this and informed the Chief Judge, Christoph Berdoe, who showed Burger a yellow card. Subsequently, the South African once again received punishment from the disciplinary committee ^[9] - this time the Burger was supposed to be out of the game for eight weeks. After that, a representative of the judicial system, Alan Hudson, investigated the incident and decided that the subjective side of the violation was not characterized by the intention to touch the eye area, but contact with the opponent’s face was intentional. According to Hudson, Burger acted "contrary to the principles of a good athlete" ^{[10] [11]} . Burger reacted to the statement as follows: “... I have the utmost respect for the traditions of the wonderful game of rugby. Throughout my life and career, I always approached the game with the intention to act tough and honest. I am not a rugby thug, and I will never intentionally squeeze out my eyes or perform other such prohibited actions. ” ^{[12] [11]} .

2010–2012

Burger defended the country's honor in the six matches of the 2010 Three Nations Cup . The first match with All Blacks was held in Auckland on July 10 - Burger started the game as a left flanker. Then "Springbox" gave way with a score of 12:32. A similar outcome was observed in the second game of rivals (17:31), however, in that match Burger was marked by an attempt. Another attempt was made by the player in the third game against All Blacks, which the South Africans also lost (22:29). As a result, the South African national team finished third, the victory went to New Zealand.

In 2011, Burger went to New Zealand to defend the world title . He played in the first match against Wales , which was victorious for Springbox (17:16). Burger spent all three matches of the group stage. However, in the 1/4 final game against Australia , the springboks lost and dropped out of the draw.

• Player page on Stormerz website
• Player's page on the website of the Western Province
• Player page on the South African Rugby Union website