SOUTH AFRICA assistant coach Gary Gold has revealed Schalk Burger was always going to be in the starting line-up for the series against the British and Irish Lions as long as he was fit.
The Stormers flanker, who missed the first Test due to a calf injury, was yesterday named at blindside ahead of Heinrich Brussow for the second Test in Pretoria on Saturday and will mark the occasion by winning his 50th international cap.
The rest of the first XV that beat the tourists 26-21 in the opener last weekend in Durban remains the same.
The only other changes are on the bench, where Chiliboy Ralepelle is named ahead of Gurthro Steenkamp and scrumhalf Ricky Januarie makes way to accommodate Brussow.
But the main point of discussion was the inclusion of Burger, despite the outstanding performance of the man who stood in for him during his absence.
“Schalk has obviously been with the squad for the entire duration since we went to Namibia,” Gold said in reference to South Africa’s only warm-up game prior to the series against a Namibian Invitational XV.
“He’s been on quite a strenuous rehab programme and has been coming along really well. He would have been first choice for selection last week, but the medical staff felt that he was a couple of days short.
“So they just gave him the best the chance possible to recover and he’s just taking up his spot now. We feel he’s ready to now go.
“Schalk’s fantastic attributes is that he closes down the inside very well and he understands defence very well. So it’s nice to be able to rely on a guy who has 49 Test caps to help us out.”
Gold also had full praise for Brussow, saying that it left Peter de Villiers’ side in a very strong position.
“I honestly believe that Schalk deserves to be in the team. He’s a tried and tested Springbok and has done brilliantly for the squad. As I said, he was our first choice last week in any case.
“It’s a nice position to be in where you can bring a young guy in for his second Test cap and he can put his hand up so strongly.
“It’s a really healthy situation to be in when the young guys come in and put the more senior guys under pressure.
“I’m sure Victor (Matfield) and Bakkies (Botha) feel the pressure from Andries (Bekker) and, in the same way, Schalk is going to feel the heat from an up-and-coming youngster.”
The other talking point was the dropping of Januarie from the match 22, which means the Springboks will have a five-two forward split on the bench, with outhalf Ruan Pienaar acting as cover for Fourie du Preez at number nine.
Gold added: “We have the versatility of Ruan, who can play scrum-half for us. Again, it’s exactly the same thinking we had with the hooker situation last week.
“I don’t think it’s sensible to go with that situation in both positions (John Smit also covering at hooker) because the risk is too high. But I think that in one or the other of those positions we can do that.”
Captain Smit was also pleased with the team named.
He said: “It’s a good team and one that I’m happy with. It’s always difficult to make a change, but I’m happy with the decision.
“We know that the first game was a tight Test match. We probably lost concentration in not closing it off.
“But what this Test match in Pretoria now becomes is one for us to try and finish the series and one for them to try and survive and try and keep the series alive. So it makes the second Test a lot spicier than the first.”
