I will be closely following all of you guys as a Suntory fan

Every time you see him off the field, you see him smiling. But every time Schalk Burger steps on to the field, there was an aggression. In the last world cup, he was appointed as a vice-captain for the Springboks and worked together with Fourie Du Preez to lead the team and place the Spingboks to get the third place title. This is his exclusive interview about Sungoliath Rugby (Interviewed on 19/01/2016)

◆Simplify the game

—— How was your 2015 Rugby World Cup?

Yes, it was interesting, I think our build up to the world cup wasn't good. We had a lot of pressure before the world cup starts which obviously wasn't a plan. We went to the first game in the world cup thinking we are in a better shape than Japan. Obviously we've lost that game and we got panicked. After that, there was a huge media pressure on us and our backs were against the wall so that was a bad part.

Good part was after that game, senior members and other players got together. It wasn't a perfect but we've found a way to win matches. Because I think any other groups would have fallen apart but we've managed to stick tight and we came really close in the semi-final match.

—— So you were obviously the vice-captain for the Springboks, What did you think about having Fourie as a captain beside you?

Fourie can control the game really well, but off the field, he is a quite natured person. So sometimes it is easier for me to talk to the team. Obviously I and Fourie were taking charge of the team but other players like Jean De Villers also supported the team as well. Most important thing was that everyone to understand what we wanted to do as a team.

—— Do you think you had an ability to communicate well since you were young?

Yes I think so, I'm calm off the field and quite aggressive on the field. When you're younger say from 18 to 25 years old, I think I was little bit more difficult. I am better now where I can control myself more after losing a lot of my hair you know. (laugh).

—— How did you learn to control that?

I think through playing a lot of games.

—— Have you ever been in to a "zone mode" where you get in to super concentration state in your rugby career?

I think every one of us been in that situation and I think it's comes in and goes but when you playing like that you don't think about it. Some games are there and you are only focusing on the job and not thinking about anything else. You see more clear and clarity in what you have to do and you make good decisions. It's one of those feeling you wish to have every week.

The thing about rugby, it is an ultimate sport and it's so much depend on the players around you. Lot of the time when your team mates are playing good, you want to be there too. I think when the team is playing well you get a lot of energy from each other too.

◆We weren't prepared well mentally

—— As you mentioned before about the team being panicked after losing against Japan, did the team got panicked during the game?

Maybe right towards the end we were little panic because we thought Japan might score the try near the end. During the game it was ok but after 60 mins the game was still tight so we realized that we must just win the game. It wasn't ideal game because there was so much pressure in the game.

I think when you play against the team like All Blacks, you expect the pressure game. Springboks never really thought Japan is going to be so tight. Preparation and focus was not bad in terms of playing our game but I think mentally we weren't ready for such a big challenge.

—— In Japanese point of view, everything went Japan way in that game but what was good about Japanese side in your point of view?

I think they deserved to win at the end, I think things which were better than Springboks was defence. They defended better because we were quite hard to get points and score tries, Springboks discipline was horrible. So every time Japan kept putting points on the score board. Goromaru kicking for the goal, I think that was a big difference, if the Springboks were better in discipline and played better rugby, score board points were different. So maybe after 20 ～25 minutes mark, if the Springboks were playing better they could have lead by 15 points at that time.

The other games with Samoa and Scotland we were able to pressure them. If the opposition starts to take charge, then it's a totally different game. Even the semi-final game against All Blacks, we created the pressure but we couldn't finish them off.

◆ Not to focus on individuals but focus on the team.

—— What was the key point to get back on the track after the Japan game?

It was a very tough week for us but I think most important thing was us the players sitting down together and discuss "This is what we want to do" because we had a bunch of good players so we had to get rid of all the irrelevant messages and had to start fresh.

—— Obviously you didn't experience that kind of situation before?

The whole year was tough for us, first championship game, we played good rugby against Australia but lose in the last 82 minutes, second game against All Blacks, we played good rugby but again lose in 78 minutes mark. So after those games Springboks felt the pressure then it is quite difficult for the team to get back to play good rugby. Then coaches started to get nervous and under big pressure, management also starts to become nervous.

We had a huge pressure from the media too so the team start to lose the focus. So after we lost against Japan, you get every individual player and discussed together and said it's all about the team. Instead of having thousand messages in a week, we had simple three messages.

—— What are those three messages?

It was different every week because every week was different challenge. For example it was like aggressive attacking rugby, defence will be like aggression and last one will be like game management.

◆Create an environment where players can concentrate on the game.

—— What do you think of Japanese national side?

I think Japanese national team is facing a big challenge ahead. So I think their next challenge is to get involved in a big tournament like rugby championships or play bigger test matches. Next challenge is to play those games and win matches.

Therefore, they need to have a long term plan to win in 2019 rugby world cup. Japan really has good players and they are getting more exposure to Super Rugby. I think in Japan rugby is getting really attractive sport so they will keep reducing good players.

—— So you have played the last two seasons in Japan, were you expecting Japan to play that well in the world cup?

I knew it was their aim and they were aiming for a quarter final. Unfortunately, they didn't make it and obviously playing in Japan and knowing Eddie and we knew that they are formidable team.

—— I believe Japan's successful result in the world cup has changed the view of overseas teams in terms of how they look at Japan now.

Obviously Eddie has made a massive success in Japan but he can't coach for ever so he needs to move on. So important appointment is a next coach and there are many good coaches around. Every coach has different style but important thing is not to try replacing Eddie. It is important to get the next best coaching staff and maybe they can build a different style of rugby. As long as he is a good coach, that shouldn't be a problem.

◆As one of a Suntory fan

—— Could you give us a message to the Sungoliath fans please?

To my forward pack as I spend a lot of time with, it is always nice to put on a yellow jersey with them and I have made many good mates and also played a lot of them against Japan game. In future, some of the players will be playing for Sunwolves and I will be playing for the Stormers. I think Suntory lineout and scrum are getting much better so it would be a good challenge and really looking forward to play against you guys.

To my team mates, it's been a very very enjoyable time and it was a different experience but was a wonderful experience. So hopefully in near future, I can come back and say hi to all of you as a Suntory fan. Share a couple of drinks together and a have a good time (laugh) I will be following the team and look at the individual closely so good luck!

(Translation：Nao Yoshimizu/ Interviewer & Context：Kazuyoshi Hariya/ Editor：Yutaro Igarashi)
[Photo：Aki Nagao]