THEY SAY that to assess a player’s value, you must watch his team play without him. In that regard, Deon Fourie’s importance to the Stormers could not have been better emphasised than when comparing successive displays in the Champions Cup.
Age 36 (25 Sept 1986)
Birthplace Pretoria
Franchise Stormers
Position Openside
Height 5ft 10in
Weight 15st 10lb
SA caps Five
Instagram handle @deon_fourie26
Fourie was outstanding in the home last-16 win over Harlequins, scoring twice and securing four turnovers to take his tournament tally to 12, the most by any player at that stage of the campaign. However, the openside suffered an orbital bone fracture that kept him out of the ensuing quarter-final in Exeter and beyond. His absence at Sandy Park was telling. “There were a couple of opportunities to steal, he would have called an extra cleaner in or slowed the ball down. We did miss him a hell of a lot,” said Stormers coach John Dobson after that 42-17 defeat.
Fourie forced his way into a Springbok jersey in 2022, writing his own bit of folklore by becoming South Africa’s oldest Test debutant at the age of 35.
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Rugby World.
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This story is from the July 2023 edition of Rugby World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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