Jacques Burger: Namibian Warrior

I honestly believe Jacques Burger is made of steel. His commitment to the cause on the rugby field is bone-crushingly staggering.

This warrior of the game is on the verge of finishing his career and it is clear to everyone in the sport, that Burger relishes the physicality on the field. That was emphasised more than ever under the sunset at Sandy Park in Namibia’s 35-21 defeat to Tonga.

The veteran backrower put in a shift as always on Tuesday night where he scored two tries for his country, which is the most any Namibian has scored in a World Cup game taking his tally to three for his country overall.

After the game Burger said: "I don't score many but when I do it's a good feeling. I can’t really claim them though. They were the forwards tries.

“But I would swap any try for a win. We need to keep talking 'win'. Every time we speak, we speak confidently and we always talk about that win. We want to win; I believe we can do it."

I think that quote sums up exactly what kind of player and person Jacques Burger is.

If we rewind six days to New Zealand in London’s Olympic Stadium; everyone knew Namibia’s job was damage limitation.

But that didn’t stop Burger leading by example and showing how much it means for him to play for his beloved country.

It seemed, at times, that the Saracens’ man was throwing himself into every tackle, ruck and maul and was single-handedly taking on the World Champions.

That was evident as the television cameras zoomed in on a cut above his eye as well as showing his facial features which have taken a few hits during his 11 year career. Overall, the flanker has had nine operations in six seasons on his body.

Defeat to New Zealand was inevitable for Namibia, but nevertheless it was a valiant display by Phil Davies’ men.

But for Burger, it meant everything for him to see his country do themselves proud and even though he quite clearly carries the team in every match they seem to play, he is desperate for the whole team to give it 100 per cent.

There is no question that he is the talisman of Namibian rugby and his team-mates - who have all sorts of different day jobs - are in awe of Burger and take note of everything he says and does when they represent their country. Burger is a rugby star, that doesn’t act like one.

At the last World Cup, Namibia suffered two 80-point thrashings, but Burger never gave up in battle and in turn he was voted one of the tournament’s five best players in a team that had little to cheer about.

Four years down the line, I suspect that a lot of the 10,103 crowd in side Sandy Park on Tuesday night were there to witness Burger do battle once again and sure enough he delivered.

Tonga may have wrapped up this game by half-time when they led 22-7, but that didn’t stop the inspirational Burger rallying his side to fightback in the second period.

After Jack Ram extended Tonga’s lead just after the break, Burger was forced over the line by his fellow forwards for the first of his two tries.

That gave Namibia a platform and they changed their tactics. Whenever they were attacking, they look to play the game through their forwards.

And despite Tonga scoring again, Burger went over for his second try after another excellent maul by the Africans.

Centre Darrell De La Harpe said after the game: "It was an improvement on last week and Jacques Burger was an inspiration as he always is. But we wanted to win. We have given Georgia something to think about for next week."

Burger’s tackle count continued to rise and he is now just two behind hooker Torsten Van Jaarsvald who has made 24 so far and has a percentage rate of 92.

Van Jaarsvald sits 11^th in the overall table for tackles made at this World Cup, so Burger isn’t far behind.

And it seems that Namibia aren’t too far away from Burger’s aim of winning on the big stage. They did look like they had Tonga on the ropes during the second half, but again they fell to defeat which is their 17^th at a World Cup.

Coach Davies said: "Tonga were too good for us today. The players put a huge effort in against a big and physical Tonga side. I got quite excited on a few occasions."

"We're getting fitter, particularly the amateur guys; we can't fault the effort but we need to become more accurate which will help us become more consistent."

"Two games left. I’m proud of our performances to date but we’ll keep chasing that elusive win. We are after it; we just need to keep working hard.”

And there is no doubt that Burger will be at the heart of everything Namibia do for the rest of their time here in England.