News in Brief
Burger returns to lead Stormers
Scrum.com
January 27, 2010
Schalk Burger will kick off his pre-season against the Sharks
© Getty Images
- Springbok flanker Schalk Burger will begin his preparations for the new Super 14 season by leading the Stormers in their warm-up game against the Sharks at Newlands on Friday.
Burger was forced to sit out his side's victory over the Western Force last weekend due to a leg injury. The 54-12 victory saw debuts for high-profile signings Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie.
"It was a bit frustrating sitting out last week," he said. "I have been on the sidelines a lot in the past year, with suspensions and injuries, and didn't want to have another week's break. As I have not been playing that much, I suppose you could say that I am fresher now than I have been before some new seasons."
- Former All Black flanker Chris Masoe has signed a new two-year deal with Top 14 high-flyers Castres. Masoe, capped 20 times by New Zealand, joined the club for the 2008-09 season.
- Ulster have re-signed fly-half Ian Humphreys and lock Ryan Caldwell. Humphreys has signed on for another three years at Ravenhill, while Caldwell put pen to paper on a two-year deal.
- Gloucester flanker Peter Buxton has signed a new deal with the Guinness Premiership side and will remain at Kingsholm until 2012. Buxton is one of the Cherry and Whites' longest-serving players, having joined from Newport in 2002.
- Northampton Saints have confirmed the capture of Worcester's England Saxons back-row Tom Wood. Wood trades places with Ireland's Neil Best, who was yesterday confirmed as the Warriors' latest signing, having played 54 games for Worcester.
"Tom is an excellent player," Saints boss Jim Mallinder said. "He has plenty of Guinness Premiership and European experience, and because he is still a young man we believe he can improve and add to his game.
"The back-row has been one of the most competitive areas of our squad over the past two years and having Tom here will mean that the standards will only go up. We are building a squad that we want to be competitive at the top end of the Guinness Premiership for several years and Tom will be a big part of that."
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1. Max Verstappen ()
