Comment: In-form Deon Fourie on Bok radar? Unlikely

Stormers loose forward Deon Fourie is unlikely to realise his Springbok dream, despite the Bok management being known to select players in the twilight of their careers.

Fourie at 35-years-old is the current form loose forward playing in the country, having enjoyed a fantastic season so far in the United Rugby Championship, culminating in two man-of-the-match awards in his last two games.

His brilliant form has coincided with the Stormers going on a terrific run and a lot of that has to do with Fourie’s contributions, with him putting in a superb shift across the field of play.

In his most recent star turn, Fourie was a menace at the breakdown, stealing a number of balls, getting in the middle of lineout mauls to disrupt the Lions and he even scored a try as he helped the Stormers to a 32-10 win at Ellis Park.

Despite how well he has played this season, the chances of Fourie getting a look in for the Boks is very small, even though in the past few seasons the national team’s bosses have given runs to older players.

At the 2019 World Cup, 38-year-old Schalk Brits was selected as third choice hooker and was rewarded with a World Cup medal.

Last year, 37-year-old Morne Steyn was then picked for the Springboks series against the British and Irish Lions and as he started his international career, basically ended it with the series winning kick.

Both those instances will give Fourie hope that he could make it into the Bok fold, but in both cases the Boks needed an experienced head in those positions.

For Brits, he backed up a strong duo of Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx, however with both never having been to a World Cup and Brits having extensive experience, he filled that void.

For Steyn he backed up the experienced Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies, but with no obvious back up for the two it was felt another experienced head was needed to cover the position.

Fourie however has no such luck, with the Boks having an extremely experienced trio of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen as their starting trio if all fit.

In the wings, the Boks then have Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese and Marco van Staden, while up and comers like Evan Roos and Elrigh Louw are all in the wings, as well as more experienced former Boks like Marcell Coetzee also available.

Unfortunately for Fourie it is a stacked department with a number of overseas based players also giving the Bok management a selection headache and his age will be a big factor against him among all the young available talent.