Neethling Fouche is the greatest example that the best things do indeed come to those with patience, especially those who don’t confuse being patient with being idle.
Fouche has been extremely busy honing his craft as a tighthead prop. His work ethic is a standout feature and his willingness to put the team over any ego-fuelled individual emotion is among the reasons he is so popular with his Stormers teammates.
Patience is a virtue and Fouche’s story of selection for Rassie Erasmus’s first Springboks alignment camp of 2024 is special and a lesson to any aspiring young player who bolts overseas if not picked for the national team a few years into his professional career.
Fouche is 31 years old, but for the past decade he has patiently done his apprenticeship as a tighthead prop at the Stormers, learning from the best in double World Cup winner Frans Malherbe and, in training, scrumming against one of the game’s great loose-head props in Steven Kitshoff.
Fouche’s situation at the Stormers, you could argue, is as much a curse as it is a blessing. With Malherbe the scrum anchor in the No.3 jersey, Fouche was always going to be the second cab off the rank.
The blessing is that he would get to test himself on a weekly basis against Kitshoff in training, but in the big games when Malherbe was available, it was inevitable that Fouche would provide bench cover.
He would comfortably have been the starting tighthead in most club set-ups in South Africa and overseas. He could easily have left years ago for the more lucrative financial incentives of France’s Top 14, where tighthead props are revered and valued even more than flyhalves.
The late Samoan and Auckland tighthead prop Peter Fatialofa, a piano mover by trade, was famous for saying the game of rugby required piano movers and piano players. He added no-one came to watch the bloke who moved the piano; only the one who played it.
But he did add that for the guy to play the piano, someone had to deliver it.
Stormers coach John Dobson told me Fouche would add value to any squad, at club or national level. Dobson said Fouche’s passion and character were things that could not be coached into a player.
For Fatialofa, the tighthead prop was the piano mover and the flyhalf was the piano player. He accepted his role, but he would be beaming today to know that plenty will pay to see a tighthead prop demolish a loosehead prop and, in the South African context, the sight of a tighthead prop in charge is as compelling as a flyhalf mastering the management of a game.
The Springboks, in winning the 2019 and 2023 World Cup, built their set-piece around their props. The Stormers, in winning the URC in its inaugural season and making the final in the second season, built their campaigns around their props.
Fouche, while not top of mind with Malherbe around, was always prepared to be the support that gave substance to the prop structures.
There was never a hint of jealousy of envy. It was as if he always believed his time would come and this season it has indeed been the case.
One of the more insightful interviews published, Fouche spoke of his appreciation of being a team player, in which the collective would always triumph over the individual.
He spoke of the back-up players being the “absurd heroes”, willing to plough away while the Bok stars shone. What mattered was that these “absurd heroes” did the jersey proud when given the opportunity, did it with a smile and did it with enough passion to ensure the first-choice players always knew the bench boys were around.
Fouche credited Stormers veterans Scarra Ntubeni and Ali Vermaak as an inspiration because of their attitude. Neither were first-choice players.
“A guy like Ali, he is 34, but he pitches up and warms up for the game knowing he is not going to play, and he does so with commitment and a smile. Before we run out, he comes to me and says, ‘try this or try that’. His support is incredible, and it adds to the collective strength of the squad.”
I found that quote from Fouche so powerful in summing up his attitude towards the game and his value towards the Stormers.
Stormers coach John Dobson told me Fouche would add value to any squad, at club or national level. Dobson said Fouche’s passion and character were things that could not be coached into a player.
Malherbe has not played since the Springboks 12-11 World Cup final win against the All Blacks in Paris in 2023, and in his absence Fouche has flourished as the starting Stormers tighthead prop.
His playing time this season is staggering for a prop. He has started in 12 of the Stormers 13 competition matches and played 781 minutes for a match-day average of 60 minutes. In the most recent URC match against the Sharks in Durban, he played the full 81 minutes.
The previous season he started in 15 of 24 matches and played 1,070 minutes for an average of 45 minutes.
A prop with an engine that can go 81 minutes is worth gold to any coach and Erasmus, in inviting Fouche to the Springboks alignment camp, once again showed that he knows the colour of gold.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.