Burger out, Luke to skipper

Schalk Burger injured his ankle against the Chiefs in Cape Town at the weekend, and it was confirmed on Monday that he will be sidelined for the remainder of the competition. It is not yet clear whether the injury will threaten the flank’s participation in the Springbok series against the British and Irish Lions, but he will be sorely missed by the Stormers, who have experienced a bizarre sequence of injuries.

Apart from Burger, who will probably be replaced on the flank by Pieter Louw, the Stormers will also be without regular fullback Conrad Jantjes, who has been ruled out for the rest of the year after breaking his leg against the Chiefs.

The Stormers are languishing in 11th position on the log, and with injuries mounting, they are in danger of ending in the bottom two if they don’t quickly arrest their slide and make a fist of the remaining fixtures.

Watson, who captained the Stormers in 2006 and 2007, deputised for Burger in the 28-14 loss, and was the form local player in the match. He will be pleased to be joined by the experience of the returning Andries Bekker, who is probably the player the Stormers miss the most when he is not present. Brian Mujati is also expected to be available this week again after being out since Easter with concussion.