VIDEO: Fourie - 'I thought about maybe HIA'

12/23/2024 04:33 AM

SPOTLIGHT: Springbok and Stormers loose forward Deon Fourie spoke about his return to the pitch after eight months, and how he experienced the first match back after his side's 29-10 United Rugby Championship win over the Lions.

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"Just to get that first ruck and that old feeling back, I was hunting that and fortunately I got the turnover." Fourie said.

"Everything else fell into place.

"I'm glad everything held up and all the nerves went out the window in the first minute." He added.

Fourie also mentioned his captaincy style and more particularly on his approach to match officials.

"I like engaging with the referees.

"There's stuff that I see and stuff that he sees that we can bounce off each other.

"It's a fine balance because you get referees that doesn't like it.

"Credit to Christopher [Allison] , he was so open to chat and I think he had a great game as well.

"I like that communication when it comes to laws and that stuff and my opinion as well."

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On his fitness levels after his eight-month lay-off, Fourie chirped that he thought about faking an injury and admitted that he felt his body becoming fatigued.

"At 28 minutes I looked up at the board and saw there's still 12 minutes [left of the first-half].

"I thought to myself just get through two minutes at a stage and see how far we can get.

"I thought about maybe HIA [head injury assesment].

"I practiced my months from behind, all those [HIA] test you have to do during the week.

"I'm just joking, but the legs got heavy and lungs were burning.

"But you have to go through this for the next few games to get back to match-fitness."

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The Stormers veteran also opened up on his time away from the game and what elements he missed during that period.

"Really what I missed was the change room.

"It's something that the old books would always say - the deep heat smell and the props being smelly and all that stuff, you miss that.

"Riding on the bus on your way to the stadium and seeing everyone on their way to the game is something that you'll always miss when you retire.

"It's small stuff you can't replicate."