Burger set for two more years with Stormers

Schalk Burger has revealed that he is set to be part of the Stormers team for at least the next two years.

The Springbok forward is heading off to play in Japan following the conclusion of the Cape side’s Super Rugby campaign this past weekend, but their defeat to the Sharks is not the last time that Burger will be seen in a Stormers shirt.

“Hopefully I have two years left at the Stormers – 2015 and 2016,” Burger is quoted on SuperSport.com.

“The deal has been done and hopefully there will be an official announcement in the next few days or in the coming weeks. I have a two year deal in Japan, but the intention is that I return for two more seasons with the Stormers. After 2016 I will reassess it. Maybe by then my appetite for playing Super Rugby and playing for the Stormers would be less than it is now.

“If it had not been for my unplanned sabbatical [due to serious injury and illness] maybe I would have had enough and I would now be committed to only playing rugby in Japan. But that is not the case, I have a strong appetite to continue playing top level competitive rugby and there is a big drive for me to keep proving that I can continue to play at the highest level.”

Burger said that the finer points have yet to be sorted out, but that when it comes to playing for the Springboks over the next two years he will fit into the same deal that applies to Fourie du Preez, who was the driving force in luring Burger to Suntory.

“The plan is for me to fall into the same program as Fourie, which means I will be available for the June internationals, the home games in the Rugby Championship and all the end of year tour games with the exception of the last one against Wales, which falls out of the IRB’s international window.

“When I started negotiating with Japan I wasn’t sure I would be selected for the Springboks again, but I did make it clear to them that I still had a strong desire to play Super Rugby and I also still had aspirations to play international rugby.”