CONGRATULATORY messages flooded Jacques Burger’s Facebook page after he was crowned Namibia’s Sportsman of the Year. He replied in his customary unassuming way with a simple, ‘Dankie almal vir die wense.’ (‘Thank you all for your good wishes.’)
The Namibian spoke to the man who gives fresh meaning to the phrase ‘inspirational captain’.’It’s a great honour to be crowned Namibian Sportsman of the Year. Even though I live in the United Kingdom (UK) currently, I am coming back to Namibia one day. My heart is at home. I’ve had such great support from Namibian people in my career and for that I thank each and every Namibian.’Dubbed ‘the patron saint of minnows’ by international media, Namibia’s national rugby team captain was also called the hardest man in the world cup, a tournament he lit up with some stirring performances. Launching himself into 64 tackles in Namibia’s four Rugby World Cup matches with scant regard for his own wellbeing, Burger fractured two cheekbones during Namibia’s game against South Africa but soldiered on with the same intensity as before. The 28-year-old, who was deservedly named as one of the five best players of the World Cup by the IRB, also won some friends off the field with his positive attitude and humility. The fiery flanker was responsible for probably one of the most memorable quotes of the event when he tweeted: ‘It’s a big honour playing the Boks at a World Cup but never mistake respect for fear.’The curly-haired flanker exhibited true leadership on and off the field. When the media wanted to sing his praises he instead chose to applaud his (mostly) amateur teammates, saying, ‘They are good players. But sometimes I get the feeling they don’t know how good they are. These guys who work eight to five, then go to training, I take my hat off to them. I have a lot of respect for them for that.’But how did it all start for him? Burger said, ‘I love playing rugby and always did. As a kid my dad took me to Wanderers every weekend and I just felt at home.’Burger, Saracens Player of the Year in 2010/11, who describes himself as ‘easygoing and passionate’ said if he did not succeed in professional rugby, he would have been a farmer or ‘a knife thrower’s assistant’. Burger grew up as a town boy, but recently he decided to venture into farming, a move he said was because of his love of the way of life on a farm. A few years ago he bought a farm in the south of Namibia close to his father-in-law’s farm.Asked about his favourite leisure activities, Burger said: ‘I play some golf and enjoy fishing when I get a chance and FIFA 2012 of course.’A typical weekend for Burger is, ‘home relaxing on Friday and after the game we as a team usually go for a few drinks. Sunday is family time.’ Jacques and his wife, Lehanie, will soon have an addition to their family. ‘My wife is pregnant so having a little girl in February then my life will change so much. I love kids,’ he said. Burger, who has a brother and a sister, said he doesn’t see them often and miss them a lot.The Welwitschias captain, who has broken his nose four times, told the media at the recently concluded World Cup that he will continue to throw himself into tackles as long as his wife thinks he is pretty.Namibian rugby enthusiasts will certainly hope that more of his kind can be unearthed.’We started working together as sales people at Kolok in Windhoek and she fell in love with me… just joking, she is great and supports me a lot. It’s been eight years now,’ he said about his wife.So what does the big man miss about Namibia when he’s away from home? ‘I miss my family, friends and just about everything good about Namibia… I’m a very proud Namibian. I work as hard as I cannot to get homesick and focus on my job every day. Saracens are amazing and I’ve made lifelong friends here so the UK feels like a second home.’As a world-class sportsman, what you eat determines your strength and performance on the pitch, and it’s no exception for Burger, who weighs over 100 kg.’I just try to stay away from bread and always try the healthier option when having takeaways. Otherwise I just train harder and eat what I feel like. I do eat healthy but do spoil myself at least once a week,’ he said.But nobody is perfect. Burger’s worst habit, according to himself, is being impatient. ‘I hate that about myself because life could be so much easier if you’re patient,’ he said.If he had the chance to change one rule in rugby for a day, he would suggest ‘no kicking’, but he admitted that it could be tough though.The proud player shared his most embarrassing moment so far in his life: ‘When we got beaten by 100 points against the Boks in Cape Town in 2007.’
