Burger declines Boks for future at Saracens
25 July 2016 - 09:48
Schalk Burger is making himself unavailable for the Springboks for this year's Rugby Championship to concentrate on playing for English club Saracens.
The 33-year-old, voted world player of the year in 2004, is joining the Premiership side after his Stormers career ended in a disappointing thrashing by the Chiefs in the Super rugby quarterfinals on Saturday."My commitment for the moment is to Saracens, so I'll be saying no to the Boks," Burger told reporters.After missing the June Test series against Ireland because of injury, Burger will not be available for this year's championship against Argentina, Australia and New Zealand."It's a new chapter in my life. Saracens have a great family culture and great results, so I'm keen to learn," he told Reuters.Burger has a two-year deal with Saracens."Let's see how the body feels after the two years. I'll be 35 going on 36," he said."I know Victor (Matfield) made it to 38, but I'm not sure I've got that longevity."Saturday's 60-21 home defeat was not the farewell Burger had been looking for."We got blown out of the water after 20 minutes. The harder we tried the worse things got." ..
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