Schalk Burger believes James Ryan’s 20-minute red card against the Springboks may signal a growing trend of opposition teams zeroing in on Malcolm Marx at the breakdown.
Speaking on The Verdict he urged the Boks to brace for more of that when the new international season rolls around.
The incident, which occurred during Ireland’s bruising Test against the world champions on Saturday, has dominated debate all week. But Burger’s take pushes it beyond a refereeing flashpoint and into tactical territory: the Boks’ most lethal breakdown weapon is becoming a marked man.
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“Often, you can feel this when you are chasing rucks. So, Malcolm chased the ruck prior to this; you could see there was obviously a target on his back. Ryan wanted to make contact, but didn’t,” Burger said.
“Second ruck after that, he sees Malcolm and that ruck is already won. So, all you can do is really just go sit on top of it, it’s done. Malcolm will probably have a nibble or slow try and slow it down. But I don’t think we can really complain about that [being a red card], back in our days, fine but in 2025, there’s no real mitigation there.”
Ryan was initially shown yellow after flying into a ruck with a tucked shoulder and making head contact with Marx, an act spotted by TMO Andrew Jackson and reviewed by referee Matthew Carley. The foul play review officer later upgraded it to a 20-minute red.
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Burger welcomed the use of the bunker system, and the fact that the sanction wasn’t a permanent red.
“I love the fact that it went to the bunker and not just a straight red, but yeah, the point of contact, the tucked shoulder or a little chicken wing. Unfortunately, we can’t say anything, other than a 20-minute red was deserved.”
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