VIDEO: Deon Fourie is not another Schalk Brits
SPOTLIGHT: Being selected to represent the Springboks at the 2023 World Cup will be a full-circle moment for Deon Fourie.
The last two years have been a whirlwind for him.
He returned to South Africa in 2021 after spending seven years in France, where he played for Lyon and Grenoble.
Since returning, Fourie has become a prominent figure in South Africa. He helped Stormers win the inaugural United Rugby Championship title in 2022 and then played a big role in the side’s run to the 2023 Grand Final.
His performance resulted in a call-up to the Springboks squad, and at 35 years old he became the oldest player to make a debut for the national side.
A year later and at the age of 36, the Stormers star again has a chance to take his career to the next level and make a case for World Cup selection.
Many have earmarked him as the Springboks’ Schalk Brits figure at the 2023 showpiece.
However, the utility forward is determined to forge his own path.
“If I play my cards right, I’d fulfil that [Brits] role anytime, I think any player would want to go to a World Cup,” the 36-year-old who can play hooker and flank said.
“Hopefully, I won’t be seen as a Schalk Brits, but rather just be my own Deon Fourie.”
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He said a lot has changed since 2019 and is eager to obtain a World Cup spot.
“When the Springboks won the World Cup in 2019 I was still playing in the French second division, and I was on a train on the way back from a match and I watch the [World Cup final]. So, it would mean a lot if I could be there.
“It’s everyone’s dream and the pinnacle of their career. So hopefully it can happen.
“But it’s been a rollercoaster. I came back from France, broke my cheekbone in my first URC game for the Stormers and was out for a few months. Then everything went well. We won the URC and I got my first [Bok] call-up.
“So everything hasn’t gone exactly as planned but it is a privilege and great honour to be here and I will keep pushing until I can’t anymore.”
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Should Fourie get a ticket to France, it’s more likely that he will be selected as the team’s third-choice hooker after Bongi Monambi and Malcolm Marx.
The selection might raise a few eyebrows as Fourie has been utilised more as a flank in recent years and dons the Bok No.6 jersey for the first time this weekend against Argentina.
“I have played more years at hooker than I have at flank. So from an experience point of view, I’ve got that backup,” explained Fourie.
“At training, I still do the line-outs, I still do scrumming and basically do the same as all of the other hookers at training. So I am well prepared in that regard.”
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Commenting on his upcoming game in the iconic No.6 jersey, Fourie said: “If you told me a few years ago that I would have the Springbok No.6 jersey on my back I would have laughed at you. It’s a big number in Springbok history and it is a massive privilege for me to wear it in a game,” said Fourie.
“It comes with a big responsibility and hopefully I can live up to the number and to the jersey.
“My mindset [this weekend] is to try and do what has brought me here. If I can replicate what I have done in the URC for the Stormers with the Boks and hopefully do a bit better, I will be happy.”
The Boks will face the Los Pumas on Saturday in Buenos Aires.
The fixture is the last match before Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber names his World Cup squad on August 8.
