Schalk Burger has responded to his former Springboks teammate, Duane Vermeulen, comparing him to England star Henry Pollock.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Vermeulen was asked about the young flanker who toured with the British and Irish Lions last year and the Bok great, who is now part of Rassie Erasmus\u2019 coaching team, said that he would love to make a short comeback to face the 21-year-old.<\/p>\n
He said as much after comparing the polarising Northampton Saint to Burger, who also broke onto the scene as a young player sporting a mop of blonde hair.<\/p>\n
Pollock is like a young Schalk<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a young kid who obviously got the opportunity to play. If you look back at Schalk Burger<\/a> when he came on the scene with that long blonde hair, you see the hair, and then you only see the tackle,\u201d Vermeulen<\/a> said at a Springboks<\/a> media day.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got his following and people that like him, and there\u2019s a hell of a lot of people that obviously dislike him, but when he plays, he has an impact, and he brings excitement to the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be interesting when the boys hit the ground in the first Test. I would love to then have a comeback, if it\u2019s only for 10 minutes, but he brings something special to their team, into their squad, and a massive energy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nice thing about the youngsters coming in is that they bring a lot of energy, and they\u2019re pushing the more experienced guys to stay on top of their game and also to push themselves. He\u2019s a character on the field and obviously a character off the field, but\u2026 When he plays, he plays his part, so I can\u2019t really say anything bad about him. He\u2019s a good player.\u201d<\/p>\n Six Nations winners and losers from the \u2018histrionics\u2019 of Henry Pollock to the \u2018unplayable\u2019 Louis Bielle-Biarrey<\/a> Appearing on the Verdict show alongside fellow ex-Springboks Jean de Villiers and Hanyani Shimange, Burger was asked about Vermeulen\u2019s comments and, rather humorously, issued a warning to the young flanker.<\/p>\n \u201cDuane said a lot there. He said Henry Pollock<\/a>, with his hair reminds me of a young Schalk Burger,\u201d show host Shimange said.<\/p>\n Burger replied: \u201cWell, the hair is the same, we didn\u2019t use the same hairdresser, surely not.\u201d<\/p>\n De Villier chipped in, joking that the \u2018Personality is the same.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nBurger\u2019s response<\/p>\n