It has been hard in the six weeks since it was decided to find any rugby person who is in agreement with the red card that banished Neethling Fouche from the field against Ulster and the ridiculous, because there is no other word to describe it, suspension that accompanied it.
The affable DHL Stormers coach John Dobson has found it hard to refrain from being ultra sarcastic every time mention of his tighthead prop’s absence has been made: “Neethling didn’t have a spade to dig a hole in the ground so that he could go low enough so it is right that he has to correct that by spending time at tackle school.”
You get the drift, that’s the kind of thing that comes out of his mouth.
And the player himself probably hasn’t heard the end of it either, because everyone has been asking him, as I did when bumping into him near the press box at one of the recent games where he had to be a spectator, either how he enjoyed going to tackle school or whether he passed the course.
NICE TO BE OUT OF THE NAUGHTY CORNER
Sure enough, as Fouche celebrated his return to rugby eligibility by going in front of a couple of Cape rugby media people at DHL Stadium on Tuesday during the buildup to Friday night’s final round Vodacom URC game against Cardiff, the questioning continued in a similar humorous vein and Fouche responded in kind.
“It is nice to now be out of the naughty corner and my wife has made good use of it,” he said. “She saw it as a chance for me to help out with dirty nappies and that kind of thing.”
The humour though belied the frustration he felt being on the sidelines at such a crucial stage of the season.
“Jokes aside, you just miss it. You sit there with a smile on the face watching the games, but the competitor within you just makes you want to be out there on the field. What it did do though was reaffirm what a massive privilege it is to be out there playing for the Stormers. We sometimes take it for granted but we must never do that.”
The silver lining of Fouche’s time on the sidelines is that he is a player with Springbok ambitions, and rightly so as he has been a part of a few national training camps and was part of the extended squad at the start of the last international season but just didn’t get onto the field to be capped. He’s hoping his ship will come in soon, and if it does it will be in July, when he should really have been putting his feet up after a long season that started last September.
The weeks he spent on the sideline without playing a game might just contribute to a fresh start for him in this final phase of the franchise/club season and the break might just help rejuvenate his body.
“I am a great believer that there is always some silver lining to every disappointment,” said Fouche.
“It has been really disappointing sitting out these three games. When you are not playing you do feel more anxious. The last two that I was here to watch were okay because we won comfortably and there were no grey hairs but the first one against Connacht had me at home sitting with my pillow over my head, unable to look (I was so tense).
“Disappointment can quickly be turned around into a positive, and I got over the disappointment of being told I was suspended for three games by figuring out that it was a chance to get rid of a few niggles and to freshen up a bit. Fortunately there was no setback for the Stormers while I was out and we won all three games with bonus points, so looking back it has been good.
“The season started with the pre-season in early September and my minutes have been high. So I was able to say to myself ‘Okay, listen, maybe your body does need a rest’, he added.
IMPRESSED WITH THE BACKUP DEPTH
He reckons one of the positives about his absence was less personal and more geared towards the team.
“The great thing for us at the Stormers is that there are always new guys coming through, and with Frans (Malherbe) also out it offered an opportunity to Sazi (Sandi), and I thought he did really well,” said the tighthead.
“Vernon (Matogo) also showed us what I have always thought of him (at loosehead), which is that he is going to be a big name loosehead in the future. And then there’s Ali Vermaak who has been playing for 43 years…” he quipped.
On a serious note, he really does appear to rate Matongo, a Zimbabwean who attended Northwood College in Durban North, particularly highly.
“I do have a soft spot for Vernon. This is the first season he has been training with us and you just know when you are a tighthead when you are going up against a loosehead that has got it. He puts me under so much pressure (in scrumming sessions). He’s always asking for advice and listening, he is always willing to learn and he is just getting better and better. I really think he is a loosehead prop we should be really excited about.”
Of course another loosehead prop schooled in KZN, Maritzburg College old boy Ntuthuko Mchunu, will be heading to Cape Town during the off-season to join the Stormers.
So the Stormers should be well served on that side of the scrum post the departure of the retired legend that was Steven Kitshoff, with Westville old boy Sti Sithole a useful player when he’s not injured and, as Fouche reminded us, there’s also Vermaak, a veteran who maybe hasn’t been given his full due and is rated highly by those who scrum against him.
CONFIDENT HE WILL MEET CARDIFF CHALLENGE
In the here and now though the immediate mission is to beat Cardiff in Friday’s final league game, a result that will confirm a fifth placed finish and a probably quarterfinal meeting with Glasgow Warriors, who have their current third place on the log just ahead of the Sharks hinging on how they go against Leinster in the final game of the league season in Dublin.
Although he hasn’t played since March, Fouche is confident he will be ready to meet the challenge posed by what he considers to be the best Welsh pack in the URC.
“When you’ve been away for a while you might sometimes lose speed of engagement but luckily I have good coaches helping me like Shimmie (Hanyani Shimange), Brokkie (Brok Harris) and Rito (Hlungwani) helping me. They have pushed me during my time in the NPS (non playing squad) to keep my sharpness up. It might take a few scrums to get my feet again but I am sure it will go well.”
He says he is looking forward to playing in front of the Stormers faithful rather than sitting among them as was the case in the last two home games.
“Our supporters are a blessing. Last week they came out in numbers in the rain. The noise they make when the team runs out onto the field sends shivers through my flesh. There were a lot of people there for the Dragons game on such a bad weather night and it shows the passion they have for us.
“I’ve told the other players to soak it in, to enjoy it, because this doesn’t last forever. We have the best fans and we really feel the support. I am just sorry we couldn’t get them a home playoff this year but we will be determined to end the season for them on a winning note.”
The Stormers team for the Cardiff game will be announced on Thursday.