There has been much focus on the emergence this season and Springbok selection of youngsters Kurt-Lee Arendse, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Elrigh Louw and Evan Roos. For me, however, the story of the week is the international recall of veteran Marcell Coetzee and first ever Test selection for Deon Fourie, who is approaching his 36th birthday.
Coetzee, who played for the Springboks as a 21-year-old, plays his first Test since 2019, a year in which he played his first Test in four years. His international absence was down to injury and overseas-based South African players, pre-2018, being ineligible for Springbok selection.
Coetzee said this week that it felt like the first time all over again, the only difference being that there is an absolute appreciation for the privilege of playing for the Springboks. It was not that he didn’t think this when he first debuted, but the older, wiser and more travelled player knows how quickly it can be taken away.
Fourie is the rugby romance of the year, one that will inspire every grizzly to never give up.
He turns 36 in September and while Victor Matfield and Schalk Brits were older when they played in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups respectively, there has never been a player as old as Fourie on Test debut.
Fourie’s story is remarkable. He made his debut for Western Province and the Stormers in 2006 and played 90 and 84 matches respectively. He then left for France’s Top 14 and in seven years played 91 matches for Lyon and 42 for Grenoble.
Fourie’s journey has been long, varied, bruising and at times exhausting. He is a player who bleeds a lot because of the attritional nature of his position as a turnover specialist flanker. But this week he spoke with the enthusiasm of a kid just out of school, playing his first season of professional rugby.
In 2021 he returned to Cape Town and played six more matches for Western Province and 16 for the Stormers, which took him to a century of matches for the latter. Fourie was one of the biggest factors in the Stormers winning the United Rugby Championship.
He spoke this week of thinking he would not realise his Bok dream when he left for France because he was based overseas.
Fourie’s journey has been long, varied, bruising and at times exhausting. He is a player who bleeds a lot because of the attritional nature of his position as a turnover specialist flanker.
But this week he spoke with the enthusiasm of a kid just out of school, playing his first season of professional rugby. He also spoke of his willingness to bleed as much as is needed to do justice to the position and a Springbok Test.
Fourie has toiled for 17 years, in which he has played 329 matches, to become a Test Springbok.
His message to aspiring Boks is that age is just a number and good enough is young enough.
Fourie’s longevity, passion for the game and relentlessness underscore that good guys do come first.
Coetzee’s comeback merits its own story because he has had to overcome several big injuries in recent years.
The feisty loose-forward, who is comfortable playing 6, 7 or 8, made his debut for the Sharks in 2011 and a year later was playing for the Springboks. He left SA in 2015 to play in Japan for the Honda Heat, then moved to Belfast in 2016 to play for Ulster.
Coetzee suffered two serious injuries during his five years at Ulster, but still played 57 matches and won huge praise for his on-field contribution and off-field impact at the club.
Last year he returned to SA via the Bulls and captained them throughout the URC season.
His national call-up is long overdue, given his form in the past 12 months.
Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer and the digital content director at Highbury Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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