Toulon hooker Burden facing mentor Botha

Toulon showed against Leinster their backs are big enough to play in the pack and on Sunday the man locking their front together, hooker Craig Burden, is not only a former winger but was helped transform into a hooker by BJ Botha.

The two South Africans will lock heads in opposition for the first time on Sunday having spent a few seasons together with the Sharks.

Encouraged
Burden played all of his formative years as a winger, and sometimes in the centre, but when he was encouraged to switch to the frontrow, Botha was a huge help to him.

“I learnt a hell of a lot from BJ so it’s going to be a great experience to play against him. It was a big change, it was a big challenge making the change but I’ve learnt a hell of a lot from the players that I’ve played with and the squads that I’ve been in.

“BJ Botha taught me a lot of things when I made the transition so it will be unusual to play against him,” said the 28-year old.

Botha is also from Durban and Burden spent seven years with the Sharks before moving this season to France.

“It’s amazingly talented squad. It’s a great lifestyle, great, I’ve settled in so well it’s been so welcoming from the players to accept me into the team.

“And a lot of rugby and we’ve got two competitions running concurrent with each other but it’s been a fantastic, amazing experience from day one. ”

He said their bid to retain the Heineken Cup and put successive Top 14 final defeats behind them and capture the Bouclier de Brennus for the first time since 1992 was demanding but they were looking no further than Munster on Sunday.

Important
"We've got to treat it as another game. We know how important it is for the Toulon supporters and we've got to play for them.

“We had a good win against Leinster. We know it’s a different ball game this weekend and they’ve got a lot of different strengths all over the field.

“We know what’s coming, we know what we’ve got to deliver as well so it’s going to be a hell of a match.

“We know where their strengths are, but I think that we’ve got a lot of strengths as well so it’s just going to be interesting to see who delivers better on their game.

“We know it’s going to start off from the off, we know they’ve got a hell of a pack.

" We know that old BJ Botha's been playing great rugby, I've played alongside him but at the moment I'm playing alongside Carl Hayman so that's the great quality of player that there is on both sides," added Burden.