Schalk Burger pinpoints Riley Norton’s ‘work-on’ after ‘creating chaos’ in maiden Springboks appearance
Springboks youngster Riley Norton and an inset of Schalk Burger.
Riley Norton’s performance against the Barbarians has caught the eye of legendary Springboks flanker Schalk Burger.
The 20-year-old lock could make his full Bok debut in July after earning a place in Rassie Erasmus’ 46-man squad to prepare for the opening game against England.
South Africa have a plethora of injuries in the second-row with Salmaan Moerat, RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn all ruled out for the first three games of the year, with doubt around Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager’s readiness to face Steve Borthwick’s charges at Ellis Park.
While there are several experienced options at Erasmus’ disposal, Norton has emerged as a real prospect after his shift against the Baa-Baas, where he scored his first try in Green and Gold.
It’s a rapid rise for the rookie, who is still yet to play a senior game for the Stormers, and could have easily opted to pursue a cricketing career after representing South Africa at U20s level. However, he did shine for the Junior Boks last year, captaining the side to a World Rugby Junior Championship title.
Schalk Burger’s verdict on Riley Norton
He won’t be involved in the title defence just yet due to his commitments with the Springboks, with Siphosethu Mnebelele taking over the captaincy duties in his absence.
Norton’s shift against the Barbarians certainly caught the eye of Boks legend Burger, who hailed his work rate in Tony Brown’s attacking structure. The former flanker was impressed by how effective South Africa’s forwards were at the breakdown, particularly when they entered the opposition’s 22 and singled out Norton in particular.
“We get into the shape nicely,” Burger said, reviewing Pieter-Steph du Toit’s try on the Verdict show.
“We see we still run those four players with like the number two, and a lot of times it goes straight past the first two, so it’s four players off nine, something we saw with Tony Brown last season, and then you have your options.
“Our 22 attack how direct and on top of the ball we are – it’s something that also is a Tony Brown influence from last year, where it’s not as structured. It’s sort of creating chaos, staying on top of the ball – these attacking sets are spectacular, and you see Riley Norton featuring prominently.”
Rassie Erasmus: Riley Norton is what the Springboks need not JJ van der Mescht
Burger did have a work-on for the young forward, but one he thinks won’t be too difficult, but will significantly improve his chances of being selected by the Springboks.
“Moving forward, because he’s such a hard worker, he’s going to get himself in a lot of ball-carrying positions,” he continued. “And if you’re looking to work on, you go create a nice skill set in and around putting other players in space, he does have great hands, so it won’t be a hard fix for him to get a nice little tip option, out the back option.”
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Rassie’s praise
Burger’s praise comes after some glowing feedback from Erasmus before his performance against the Baa-Baas.
“I don’t want to single out a player because he’s standing out more than the others, but he’s definitely a guy who’s got maturity about him, coming into the Springbok set-up as a young guy,” he said.
“He’s definitely not at all windgat [show-off], he’s confident, and there’s an aura around him.”
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