De Villiers rues Burger ban

Stormers captain Jean de Villiers said the loss of flanker Schalk Burger for Friday's Super 14 match against the Crusaders at Newlands is a big blow to the side.

Stormers captain Jean de Villiers said the loss of flanker Schalk Burger for Friday's crunch Super 14 match against the Crusaders at Newlands is a big blow to the side.

Burger received a yellow card for fighting in the Stormers' loss against the Sharks over the weekend and has since been handed a two-week ban following his actions towards touch judge Willie Roos.

As the player left the field he visibly showed his dissent, several times gesticulating in the direction of Roos.

It was these actions, which included a rude sign, that landed him in hot water.

Burger was found guilty on a charge of an act contrary to good sportsmanship on Monday and was handed his sentence the following day.

“Yes, it is a big loss for us,” De Villiers told the Stormers' official website.

“Any player that we lose is a big loss and that is definitely the case with Schalk.

“We haven't made a decision yet about who will replace him, but we have guys in the squad that can take over from him and fulfil that role.

“It is an opportunity for somebody else to play Super 14 rugby and hopefully that player will grab the opportunity with both hands.”

De Villiers said the Stormers would never be satisfied with just being competitive after losing two close matches in consecutive weeks to the Bulls and Sharks respectively.

The new captain said the squad were especially not happy with their 12-10 defeat to the Sharks in Durban on Saturday and are determined to start winning.

The Stormers' narrow defeat to the Bulls in the opening game at Newlands was another match the Cape Town-based side could have won. But even though the team performed admirably against both last year's finalists, De Villiers wants more.

“We were not happy with the defeat, but there are positives we can take from that performance,” said the Stormers skipper.

“Our defence, for instance, was really good. We have shown over the past two weekends now that our defensive system is rock solid.

“We had only one try scored against us and it was debatable whether it was a legitimate try or not.

“This weekend (against the Crusaders) there will be more questions asked of the defence and it will be a huge challenge.

“Another positive is the fact that a few players have adapted nicely to Super 14 rugby.

“A guy like Francois Louw is in his first season of Super 14 and he is coping well. Sereli (Naqelevuki) is an old stalwart, but it is also his first Super 14 and he looks impressive.”

The Springbok centre also said the team is starting to gel as a combination, even though they currently occupy the bottom spot on the Super 14 table.

“One should remember that almost all the combinations haven't played together before the Bulls game and the combinations are coming together nicely now.”

De Villiers assured Stormers supporters that they are not going to neglect the attacking play with the two-time Super Rugby semi-finalists only scoring a try in each of their outings thus far.

“The defence has been a positive, but now we need to give attention to our attacking play,” said De Villiers.

“It has been a strong point over the years. Our backline needs to sharpen up now and show some improvement.”