The cup is really running over for Deon Fourie, with the DHL Stormers flank’s selection to the Springbok squad being followed by the week he plays his landmark 100th game. To top that, the milestone match just happens to be a home Vodacom United Rugby Championship final against the Bulls.
Fourie has many happy memories with both the Stormers and Western Province, and memorably led the latter to a shock Currie Cup final win over the Sharks in Durban in 2012. What still blots his memory bank a bit though is his recollection of the one previous final he played for the Stormers, indeed the franchise’s only appearance in a major final.
That happened in 2010, when Rassie Erasmus was still effectively the WP director of rugby and Allister Coetzee was the coach. The Stormers hammered the Waratahs in a Cape Town Super 14 semifinal to advance to the final against the Bulls at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. That was the year the FIFA World Cup came to South Africa, and Loftus wasn’t available.
HARD TO FIGHT BACK IN A FINAL
The Stormers went into that game with high hopes but the Bulls took control early through a try to Francois Hougaard. The Stormers did try their best to come back and spent much of the second half on the attack but they were always kept at an arms length by the Bulls, who had Morne Steyn to punish their indiscretions with six penalty kicks as the Bulls ran out 25-17 victors.
Steyn should be on the Bulls bench on Saturday and is along with Fourie the only survivor from that game. He could play a role again and as Fourie recalls, and he warns his current teammates, it was tough having to play catch-up in such a high pressure final. It is not something he’d like to see repeated when the same two teams clash in the URC decider on Saturday night.
“It was 12 years ago but it always gets stuck in my head and I think it might serve as a bit of extra motivation for me for Saturday,” said the soon to be newest Stormers centurion.
“In finals, it’s about taking advantage of the one or two chances you get. You have to do the basics well in the 80 minutes. If you make a mistake somewhere, you could lose by getting hit with a try.
“I think back to 2010 when Francois Hougaard went under our posts after a pass from Fourie du Preez, where our defence system was not in place. It was a half a gap they took but that score forced us on the back foot. Such small things can break you in the final as it is hard to fight back.”
Fourie was the reserve Stormers hooker back in 2010 and had yet to play on the flank, the position he has excelled at this season in the URC. He is listed as a utility forward, meaning he will probably cover hooker as well as looseforward, but it is his experience that could be most valuable to the Boks.
MORE EXPERIENCED TEAMS IN 2010
The vast experience available to both teams is what Fourie remembers about the 2010 final and he says it is the difference between then and now.
“The Bulls had a lot of experienced star players, guys like Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez, and were almost a Springbok squad. We had a lot of experienced Boks too, Schalk Burger and Andries Bekker and others. It is very different now as both us and the Bulls have youthful teams with the obvious odd exception like myself.”
Fourie will become the 10th player to play 100 matches for the Stormers, following in the footsteps of Jean de Villiers, Siya Kolisi, Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff, Juan de Jongh, Brok Harris and Peter Grant.
“It’s special to be playing my 100th game, I didn’t think I would get there. I was at 86 matches when I left to play in France, played 91 matches for Lyon, and then 46 for Grenoble. I just barely missed out on quite a few milestones. So 100 games for the Stormers] counted among my goals with my return.”
What probably wasn’t high on his mind when he returned was a possible Springbok cap, but that has edged closer with his selection to Jacques Neinaber’s extended squad for the home series against Wales next month. He said he was excited to hear of his selection, and is hopeful he will be able to get a cap for his country, but says his immediate priority is to do the business for the Stormers on Saturday.
“I have been selected as a utility forward but who says that means I am not being seen as a flank and No8, rather than a flank as a hooker,” he grinned during a zoom press conference on Monday afternoon.
“Seriously though, I haven’t spoken to the coaches and don’t know what they expect of me. I will find that out when I report to the camp next Monday. For now my focus is on winning the URC title with the Stormers. Considering where we started the season and how we were written off, that would be a fantastic achievement.”