Cape Town - Stormers captain Schalk Burger will not play in their warm-up clash against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth because he went to the Laureus sports awards in London on Monday night.

Die Burger reports that Burger won't be able to practice before Wednesday, which means that he cannot be considered for the match against the Kings.

This means there will be no confrontation between Burger and Kings loose-forward Luke Watson on Saturday. It is well known that Burger and Watson weren't the best of friends when Watson still played his rugby in the Cape.

But coach Allister Coetzee feels that Burger has done enough in pre-season to be sharp for the Stormers' first Super Rugby clash against the Hurricanes at Newlands on February 25.

"Schalk will join us on Wednesday but has spent enough time on the playing field," said Coetzee.