Schalk Burger's incredible comeback from a life-threatening illness to playing arguably the best rugby of his life earned him the Comeback of the Year Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, yesterday. Burger was on hand to accept an award for his recovery from bacterial meningitis after going in to hospital to have a cyst near his spinal cord removed and being near death, to playing for the Springboks again."Obviously, where I am now is completely different to where I was two years ago," Burger said."I was seriously ill and battling for my life. Now, two years later I'm at the Laureus awards."Burger's parents and his wife were in the audience at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and his father broke down in tears as they played a video of his son's amazing comeback.Reflecting on his days in intensive care, Burger said there were times when he didn't think he would make it."On about the third day in hospital my wife phoned my family and closest friends and told them to come and say goodbye because I was on my way out. I was conscious of it. But I was literally just fighting from heartbeat to heartbeat," he said."And every heartbeat felt like a knife stabbing in my brain. At times I felt like just stopping, but I could literally feel myself then slipping and would have to fight again."I saw it as a fight that I had to win. At that stage there was a lot of confusion, and I think a lot of my motivation was driven by anger. I was also newly married and my eldest son was six months old at the time, so that gives you added motivation to fight and battle through."With the World Cup looming later this year, Burger says he would love to be a part of a Springbok triumph in England.But the man who went from 120kg to 90kg during his illness says rugby is now a much smaller part of his life."Before I got injured and ill rugby played a massive part in what I was and what I did. It dominated life. After that, life got put into perspective for me. I wasn't an emotional guy beforehand but now I do get quite emotional about the sentimental side of things. Rugby is a much smaller part of my life."It's still very important, but life in general has become more important than rugby."..