From Brakpan to Nam
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:11
Flank Jacques Burger ran out for his country last Saturday, only hours after coming off the bench for the Blue Bulls. rugby365.com's Nick Pawson had a few words with the Namibian about his telling feat.
After having gone for some patch-work to a minor head injury, the indomitable 'biltongboer' admitted to suffering some residual fatigue when he ran out for Namibia against the Zimbabwean Sables last Saturday - who recorded an impressive 35-21 victory which doubled as a World Cup qualifier for 2011.
Having just arrived in Windhoek that morning, Burger had had a run for the Blue Bulls the night before in their Currie Cup clash against the Falcons in Brakpan.
"It was tiring!" Burger told rugby365.com.
"I felt it [the Bulls game and the trip home] on Saturday, but I played for 80 minutes [for Namibia] and I really needed the game time.
"Fortunately the level of intensity is not quite up there compared to the level of Curry Cup rugby," he added.
Born and raised in Windhoek, Burger admitted his father's rugby involvement was a primary influence - having managed a rugby club in Windhoek where Jacques spent a lot of time as a youngster.
Burger played three years of first team rugby at Windhoek High School, where he was selected for the Craven Week side for two consecutive years.
After school, the 25-year-old spent a year playing for the Cheetahs Under-19 side, then returning to his homeland to play for the senior Namibian squad.
Following that, Burger then returned to South Africa to take up a three-year contract with Griquas, whereafter he was released to represent Namibia for the 2007 Rugby World Cup (RWC) in France.
After Namibia's impressive performances at the RWC, the young flank was snapped up by his current South African provincial outfit, the Blue Bulls.
"I'm very happy to be here at the Bulls," Burger confessed, in light of the challenges Namibia face in trying to secure and grow their pool of rugby talent.
"It's difficult in Namibia. Rugby is only an amateur sport there and guys don't have the best training facilities - it's not professional enough.
"A lot of us now play overseas or in South Africa so it is difficult to get the guys training together for a long period of time - hopefully this will change in the future," he added.
Burger also admitted that financially, Namibia face a struggle in trying to match the competitive level of other more renowned rugby-playing nations, with only a small handful of Namibian internationals affording to play professionally.
"Most of the guys have an eight-to-five job and then go to rugby practice afterwards, and maybe a beer, just like the old days!
"The other problem with Namibia is that the towns are so widespread, so you have to drive a long way and sometimes can't make all the practices," Burger added.
Burger has signed a contract with the Blue Bulls for two years where he will further his rugby career, and see what options might await him come the end of 2009.
By Nick Pawson
