World Cup hero ‘raring’ to tackle the All Blacks again after torrid injury run
Springboks and Stormers forward Deon Fourie.
Deon Fourie looks set to make a timely return from injury to tackle the All Blacks once again.
The 39-year-old has recovered from the latest of his torrid run of injuries and says he is ‘raring to go’ for the showdown against Dave Rennie’s charges.
Fourie’s career has been a story of resilience and defiance, becoming the oldest player to debut for the Springboks – doing so against Wales at the age of 35 in 2022. He was overlooked earlier in his career after being told that he was too small to be a Bok loose forward and eventually packed his bags for France, where he had stints with Lyon and Grenoble.
However, he returned to South Africa in 2021 and, after helping the Stormers win the inaugural United Rugby Championship, earned his call-up to the Springboks squad. He went on to claim a place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad, where he enjoyed a greater role than perhaps he would have ever predicted as he played 77 minutes of the final following the injury to Bongi Mbonambi.
Injury setbacks and raring to go again
He produced a heroic defensive shift from the hooker position, with an injured shoulder, to help defend their title.
However, the last 28 months have been far more cruel to Fourie who suffered a major ACL injury more than two years ago. When he regained his fitness, he managed just four matches before picking up an ankle issue and then suffered a serious bicep injury in his first game back.
Despite assumptions that would be the final straw, Fourie relented, recovered and played six times for the Stormers before his next setback, ligament damage during the clash against Ulster after a croc-roll by Iain Henderson.
Again, there were doubts but the World Cup winner has worked tirelessly to return to match fitness and is in line to tackle the All Blacks yet again, this time wearing the colours of his beloved Stormers.
“It’s about 10 or 11 weeks after the operation. Fitness-wise, I’ll probably only be able to tell you on Friday,” a smiling Foruie told reporters on Monday.
“I am definitely raring to go, and it’s a great opportunity. I was looking forward to this match since it was announced a year or two ago.”
“Just to represent your club, where I’ve spent almost my entire career, against a Test side like the All Blacks is such a big occasion. To face the Haka is something every little boy dreams of when they start playing rugby.”
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Commenting on his heroics in the final, he added: “I can’t remember much of those 77 minutes. It went by so quickly.
“You always hope that you can play against them again, but in the last two years I’ve had some bad luck with injuries. I didn’t know if I would still be able to play this year, but fortunately everything went well, and I will get an opportunity to face the Haka again.
“In 2023, when everything went past so quickly, you almost forget what it felt like, and to relive that feeling again will be nice.”
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It’s truly a remarkable feat that the soon-to-be 40-year-old has overcome all these injury setbacks to return to the pitch again but Fourie isn’t stopping there. He hopes to catch Erasmus’ eye and earn a recall to the Springboks squad.
“You always want to wear the green and gold jersey,” said Fourie.
“I think that’s the ambition of every rugby player. I’ve enjoyed the rugby just before my last injury. Hopefully, I can put in a good performance and put my hand up for one or two more Tests.”
