No flank future for Fourie
29 Oct 2012
Deon Fourie says he’ll return to hooker next season, despite an impressive stint at openside flank during the Currie Cup.
In WP’s 12-match campaign, team captain Fourie (a specialist hooker) only started in the No 2 jersey in two games during the opening rounds of the domestic competition.
Head coach Allister Coetzee utilised the player as an openside flank because of his loose forward injuries, which included Schalk Burger, Siya Kolisi and Nizaam Carr. No 8 Duane Vermeulen was also on international duty with the Springboks.
Fourie impressed in the loose trio, with his standout performance coming in the 25-18 final victory over the Sharks. He was a key in the breakdown assault during the win, which denied the Sharks quality ball on attack. The 26-year-old was also a regular ball carrier and was resilient on defence, earning him the Man of the Match award.
‘I enjoyed my time at flank, but I’ll be returning to the hooker berth in Super Rugby next year,’ Fourie told keo.co.za. ‘With guys like Schalla and Siya returning from injury, they’ll be first choice in the loose trio.’
Fourie added that he’s committed to the Stormers and WP: ‘My move to Toulon came with a few hiccups, but I’m delighted to stay in Cape Town. That decision was made before the Currie Cup final, so you can imagine how I feel being part of this winning team. I don’t see myself playing for another union or franchise.
‘It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally crossed the finish line. I’m looking forward to building on to this success next season. With some experienced guys coming back from injury and the youngsters who’ve emerged during the Currie Cup, we have a strong squad.’
The Stormers will boast three in-form hookers in Fourie, Springbok Tiaan Liebenberg and Scarra Ntubeni in 2013.
Twenty-year-old Ntubeni is one of the youngsters who impressed on the domestic scene this year. Coetzee hailed his contribution during his debut Currie Cup campaign, especially during the final at Kings Park.
By Gareth Duncan
16 Comments
29 Oct 2012, 06:28 am
No man…. You can’t throw for sh*t and Scarra has been awesome!
29 Oct 2012, 06:44 am
@Bagel-1:
he’s 20..?..
but you follow the allister coetzee methodology on how to fark players right up, dont you….
29 Oct 2012, 06:50 am
” In WP’s 12-match campaign, team captain
Fourie (a specialist hooker) only started in
the No 2 jersey in two games during the
opening rounds of the domestic
competition.”
and skop would like to harass us to believe that fourie is a better hooker than strauss, chiliboy etc yet he hardly ever starts for his own team, please.
29 Oct 2012, 06:58 am
@Transformation-3:
Hehehe Trans and him moving back to hooker when the real boys stand up in the back row makes a mockery of his claim that he is the best loose forward in SA as well!
So we can scratch those two skop selections from the board, only leaves us with 523 others…
29 Oct 2012, 06:58 am
Brilliant player to have in the Stormers mix….I am bloody relieved we retained him.
29 Oct 2012, 07:08 am
Deon Fourie makes for a fantastic option on the bench, since he covers hooker and loose forward.
Great impact player.
29 Oct 2012, 07:09 am
@grant10-5: Am also very pleased for you guys that you get to keep such a player.
It hasn’t been the trend you know, where guys not in the Boks mix, decide to stick around. Even Louw left, which I feel has less to do with WP letting him go.
29 Oct 2012, 07:39 am
Great thing we could manage to keep Deon, he’s very useful in a long SRugby tournament where injuries come into play.
29 Oct 2012, 14:34 pm
He’s a super rugby bench player. Poor thrower as a hooker, Tian far better option. And he wouldn’t get a look in the back row with Schalk, Duane and Siya fit. Everyone gets all excited saying how disappointed they are because he didn’t make the Boks side. Put it in perspective guys, he had a good Currie Cup campaign… thats all.
29 Oct 2012, 17:39 pm
One of our CC ysters indeed.
29 Oct 2012, 18:00 pm
I would have kept him at 6, i think that scarra is a very promising player, I would like to see more of him next year,
29 Oct 2012, 21:06 pm
He really developed into a higher level player this year. Affective in both flank nd hooker positions. Does throw poorly at times. But his dual ability will be a big help to the squad
didnt really rate him before this year, but he showed his class this season
is he test quality .. We’l have to see. Tiaan isnt exactly setting the world alight when he appears of the bench for the boks. In fact tiaan looks alittle out of his depth
maybe im being harsh. But whn bismark is the positional bench mark its hard to compare
scarra showing alot of promise. Was all over the place on saturday making tackles, providing support etc
29 Oct 2012, 21:43 pm
Ou doos is quite right on Fourie – he’s by far the best hooker currently playng in SA with Bismarck out – any wp side with fourie in is 20% improved and he’d do the same for tge Boks – our lot are absolute fools.
29 Oct 2012, 22:26 pm
With Flouw out, he may be a Bok openside flank next…
29 Oct 2012, 22:29 pm
@Bagel-1:
He keeps throwing the beers after fetching too many!
30 Oct 2012, 12:25 pm
He cant be any worse than Burden who was made a p**s by Etsebeth on Saturday .
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.