Saracens has confirmed Schalk Burger will leave the club at the end of the season.
A Rugby World Cup winner and the 2004 World Player of the Year, the 35-year-old Springbok leaves Allianz Park having made a great impact on and off the field.
📰| Saracens can confirm Schalk Burger will leave the club at the end of the season.#ThankyouSchalla ⚫🔴
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) February 27, 2019
He has enjoyed success in north London – the 2017 European Champions Cup a particular highlight for the South African – but his want to engage in conversation with the Sarries academy players to further their development has been clear for all to see.
A great man and an ambassador of the sport, Burger will head back to Cape Town when the 2018/19 campaign ends and with him he will take a lot of memories from his time at Saracens which he is extremely grateful for.
“I’m going to leave Saracens a happy man. I’ve made great friends here and that’s pretty much the standout feature,” he said.
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“The way we go about enjoying rugby, enjoying spending time together, the trips I’ve had with the team and we’ve won a couple of trophies since I’ve been here too so I have a lot of great memories.
“In rugby you go through phases where you play well and don’t play well, but at the end of the day that’s the by-product. What you care about is the quality of the human and the quality of time we’ve spent together as a club.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone for taking not only me in but my whole family. We’ve had a lot of success on the field but what stands out is the friendships I’ve made off the field so a massive thank you to everyone involved.”