If ever there was a rugby movie script, it belongs to Springbok utility forward Deon Fourie.
Fourie’s story is one of inspiration more than aspiration because once one understands the inspiration there is never a question about aspiration.
Fourie, a fantastic loose-forward, left South Africa for France more than a decade ago. He took a career decision, in which the financial lure was too enticing to resist and one that would allow him to mature as an individual, grow as a person, learn a new language, experience a new culture and become a family.
Fourie had made peace with his international aspirations. It was not going to happen, not with the quality of loose-forwards or style of loose-forwards that were being picked for the Springboks.
Off he went to France for eight wonderful years.
He returned to Cape Town two years ago, to complete his playing cycle at Western Province and within a month found himself playing for the Stormers in the inaugural United Rugby Championship. Fourie was sensational, the Stormers won the title and he was capped for the first time in a Test at the age of 36. It made him the oldest Springbok on debut.
A year later he is the starting hooker for the Springboks at the World Cup. Fourie has become arguably the most important cog to the Springboks' prospects of defending the World Cup since injury ruled out specialist hooker Malcolm Marx.
The Springboks, for the past six years, have been spoilt for choice in alternating Bongi Mbonambi and Marx as their match-day hookers. With Marx out, Mbonambi has been wrapped in cotton wool until the play-offs.
If he nails it against Tonga, he will find himself playing in a World Cup play-off in France, the country in which he initially found peace with his rugby and his life decisions.
Fourie, a specialist openside flanker, started his career at hooker and played hooker for the first time in a Test in the final quarter against Ireland. Fourie’s backup against Tonga on Sunday is another specialist flanker in Marco van Staden.
The Bok coaching leadership has entrusted this versatility to take them all the way in France. They have invested in the duo as being good enough to play out of position and they relied on only two specialist hookers in the original 33 World Cup squad.
It was deemed more important to replace Marx with fit-again flyhalf Handré Pollard because of the comfort he could give to the goal-kicking inconsistency of Manie Libbok.
Specialist hookers in South Africa have been deemed secondary to the bigger World Cup cause and while there is obvious adversity in Marx’s absence, there is only opportunity for Fourie.
If he nails it against Tonga, he will find himself playing in a World Cup play-off in France, the country in which he initially found peace with his rugby and his life decisions.
What a storyline and what a rugby romance.
Fourie will have the comfort of his former Stormers teammate Marvin Orie calling the line-outs and the hulk presence of Eben Etzebeth at the front of the line-out.
The Boks must score a bonus-point win against Tonga to ensure qualification for the play-offs, but they could just win and qualify if Scotland loses to Ireland in the final pool match in a week’s time.
The issue of the Boks’ final Pool match on Sunday is not whether they win or not. They will win against a Tongan side beaten 59-16 by Ireland and 45-17 by Scotland.
The detail is in how Fourie and Van Staden go as hookers, how Etzebeth’s shoulder holds up, how many minutes Handré Pollard lasts and just how efficient he is off the kicking tee, and it is about whether Canan Moodie can do enough at No 13 to start the play-offs ahead of veteran outside centre Jesse Kriel.
The collective, in terms of result and scoreline, will look after itself. There is too much quality in the match 23 for this not to be the case.
This a Test about the statement performance of a handful of players, none more so than Fourie, and a clean medical bill of health.
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