DHL Stormers skipper Deon Fourie, back from an eight-month injury layoff, has admitted to getting “the jitters” in the buildup to Saturday’s clash against the Lions.
The 38-year-old flanker will make his long-awaited return from a serious knee injury in the round 8 Vodacom URC derby at Cape Town Stadium.
Fourie has been on the sidelines since injuring his ACL in April during the Investec Champions Cup clash against La Rochelle in Cape Town.
“It’s been a long journey, lots of ups and downs. I’ve been so long out of the game, the longest was normally three months and this was the first time for eight months,” he told the media in a Stormers conference on Friday.
“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions, rehab and pain, but thanks to all the medical staff that have pushed me through. I’m just so happy to be back.
“It’s never easy watching from the sidelines and all the emotions are there, but the knee feels great and hopefully it can hold up tomorrow.”
Fourie, who played a key role as an emergency hooker during the Springboks’ 2023 World Cup triumph, acknowledged that his first outing after such a long time will be challenging but he’s relishing the opportunity.
“I’ve told the guys it feels like my first cap. I’m not usually the guy who stresses before games and am always chilled, but as soon as I woke up on Monday I started to get the jitters,” he said. “It’s been so long since I’ve played.
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“I’ll see how it goes tomorrow, hopefully it’s like riding a bike but definitely there’ll be some errors – sorry, Dobbo, in advance!
“But just getting back in there, once the adrenaline starts pumping hopefully it will go well.
“The contact [at training] is not the same but I’ve been around the block for a few years so hopefully that can help.”
Fourie headlines a contingent of Boks returning to Stormers duty, while Salmaan Moerat is set to celebrate his 50th appearance for the team.
Moerat took charge in a heavy defeat against Harlequins last week. On the decision to hand Fourie the captaincy on his comeback, Dobson said: “We started the preparation for this game two weeks ago.
“Salmaan used the Harlequins game as his return game and we stayed in prep with this team, and Brannas led that group.
“Salmaan wasn’t going to start this game because of Ruben [van Heerden], and we announced him [internally] on the bench. But in line with our policy, we then put Salmaan in to start his 50th, and we’d already appointed Brannas the captain.
“But then there’s another element to it; the last game he [Fourie] captained was a pretty important game – the World Cup final!”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
