Saturday, 19th May 2007 at 11:31 am

Schalk completes extraordinary comeback

Rugby focus this week has been on Durban, and assorted front pages, which has allowed the Springbok camp to get underway in relative peace and quiet (attention on Xhosa loose forward Luke iWatson aside). With the Bulls and Sharks players not due in until Sunday, it’s been a Cheetahs, Lions and Stormers collective, with time spent largely on fitness training, weight sessions, and assorted tests to see how players have come through the Super 14.

And amongst those players, a man whose rugby career was in serious doubt at the end of last year. Schalk Burger would never play again, some doctors insisted, and even the most optimistic suggested that recovery in time for the World Cup was by no means certain. Burger simply smiled at the expert analysis, however, took plenty of time post-op to relax and enjoy the cellar at the family wine farm, Welbedacht, and prepared to make a more remarkable comeback than most people have given him credit for.

He missed the end of year tour (and was thus unable to add to his healthy collection of northern hemisphere yellow cards), but emerged in a Stormers jersey just a couple of rounds into the Super 14, flinging himself head first into rucks and mauls with the sort of carefree abandon that first marked him out as a rare talent. And now he’s in Bloemfontein, training with the squad, and squaring up for the international season.

Which, considering the nature of his neck injury, all but defies conventional medical opinion; point that out to Schalk, however, and all you’ll get is a broad smile, and the assurance that Welbedacht Cricket Pitch (the estate’s marvellous red blend) can cure anything. Six months ago, we didn’t think he’d make France; now, bar opponents laden with industrial quantities of Kryptonite, World Cup number two beckons - and South African rugby fans breathe a collective sigh of relief.