Deon Fourie will celebrate his 40th birthday in Australia on 25 September after a Springbok recall that even he admits he never saw coming. CLINTON VAN DER BERG reports.
Speaking to the media from Baltimore, Fourie confirmed his birthday falls on the Boks’ off day in Perth ahead of their one-off Test against the Wallabies.
“I’ll be in Australia, I think it’s on the Friday. Luckily it’s an off day for us as well, because we’re only playing on the Sunday,” he said. “I’ve got a few friends in Sydney; they’re probably going to fly over to Perth and maybe they can make it special for me.”
His wife, he joked, had other ideas.
“She had a few plans a few months ago for my 40th, but that changed a bit.”
Fourie’s return to the green and gold, just before turning 40, has taken him by surprise as much as anyone.
“After the World Cup I thought maybe just play one or two more years,” he said ahead of playing off the bench in Baltimore.
But an invitation to an alignment camp in Cape Town last year “sparked a bit of fire in me again to wear the green and gold”.
A broken ankle soon followed.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll wear the green and gold again,” he admitted at the time, before a string of strong performances changed that trajectory.
Selected to start against New Zealand in the second match of the Greatest Rivalry series, Fourie became the oldest Springbok in history and says he still can’t quite process it.
“It wasn’t a goal of mine to do that,” he said. “It was just a goal to get used to this incredible environment, my country and the people around me.”
He remains visibly emotional whenever the national anthem plays.
“It’s always special to celebrate my country and sing the national anthem,” he said. “I remember every time after the World Cup, it was always emotional. It’s such a big, proud thing.”
On motivation, Fourie pointed to two years wrestling with injury as his driving force.
“My motivation was just to get back onto the field and to showcase that I’ve still got some rugby in myself,” he said. “All the criticism I get from people out there just puts fuel to the fire for me, to prove them wrong.”
For now, Fourie insists he is taking nothing beyond the next 80 minutes for granted.
“I don’t look so far ahead at the moment,” he said. “I’m playing game by game, waiting for the moment to get on the field.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post Fourie’s fire still burns at 40 appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Deon Fourie will celebrate his 40th birthday in Australia on 25 September after a Springbok recall that even he admits he never saw coming.
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