Deon Fourie had no idea that he was the Springboks captain during the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand back in 2023.<\/p>\n
This, after he didn\u2019t even expect to get onto the park at all during the showpiece event, but everything changed in the opening five minutes of the game when Bongi Mbonambi was forced off the pitch due to a knee injury sustained after a dangerous clear-out by Shannon Frizell.<\/p>\n
Fourie<\/a> had been included in the Boks\u2019 World Cup<\/a> squad primarily as a flanker, but when Malcolm Marx was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament during the pool stages, the coaching staff opted to call up Handre Pollard instead of hooker cover. That meant that Fourie and Marco van Staden were tasked with covering the position.<\/p>\n Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus gambled on Mbonambi playing a full 80 minutes in all of the knockout matches, but that backfired when the hooker was forced off the pitch, and Fourie had to play almost the entirety of the final.<\/p>\n Early Rugby World Cup final substitution<\/p>\n Speaking to fellow Rugby World Cup winners Trevor Nyakane and Steven Kitshoff on the For the Love of Rugby SA podcast<\/a>, Fourie revisited how the events unfolded on that night in Paris.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we all know, the plan was for Bongi to play 80 in quarters, semi, and final,\u201d Fourie began.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we went into the final with a 7-1 split. I remember we went out to the warm-up, and Rassie called me over and said, \u2018With a 7-1 split, the chances of you going on are slim\u2019 because Pieter-Steph [du Toit] and Kwagga [Smith] trained at wing and Cheslin at nine, so we always needed someone just on the bench for if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember telling him, \u2018I don\u2019t mind, let\u2019s just win this trophy.’\u201d<\/p>\n Sir Graham Henry: Springboks are the best in the world by a \u2018considerable margin\u2019 as \u2018arrogance\u2019 holds All Blacks back<\/a><\/p>\n A dream first cap against the All Blacks<\/p>\n In 2022, Fourie became the oldest-ever Springbok<\/a> debutant when he came off the bench against Wales in Bloemfontein. Fast forward a year, and now he was on the bench for the World Cup final and consigned to the fact that he wouldn\u2019t get onto the pitch, but all that changed when Mbonambi lay prone on the turf.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw Bongi lying down, holding his knee, and we know Bongi is not a guy who just falls down. If he is not injured, my first thought was \u2018Jis, final is happening again for him\u2019 because he got concussed in 2019,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the video, you can see Kwagga start talking to me, and to this day, I can\u2019t remember what he said to me at all, but you can see in my eyes a bit like glass that you can see through, because now this is it. This is a thing that, as a kid, you dreamed of. My first memory was the 1995 World Cup \u2013 when I was 19 years old. So that\u2019s where my first memory of rugby was, and now you\u2019re in it. We received a kickoff. I was behind Pieter-Steph, and then everything happened so fast. That game was so fast. You look up, and it\u2019s half-time now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just scrambling and tackling, and you actually didn\u2019t even hear the crowd because you were so focused on the job you have to do and playing the All Blacks<\/a> as well. It was my first cap against them, which was a massive honour too. Seeing the Haka for the first time as well.<\/p>\n \u201cSo all those memories that as a kid, as a boy, as a young player, professional player, it\u2019s always something you wanted to do, and you experienced it in the blink of an eye.\u201d<\/p>\n SA Rugby boss\u2019 \u2018tragic\u2019 verdict on B&I Lions prospect as ex-Scotland forward issues \u2018disrespectful\u2019 warning<\/a><\/p>\n Shock Springboks\u2019 captaincy call<\/p>\n When Fourie started his professional career at Western Province and the Stormers, he would often play at flank and hooker. However, as he has progressed through his career, he has predominantly played in the back row. In fact, before his appearance against Tonga in the front row<\/a>, he hadn\u2019t played hooker for several years; now he was being tasked with fulfilling the physically and tactically demanding position in the biggest game of his career.<\/p>\n Even more weight was thrust onto his shoulders; unbeknownst to him, he had been given the Springboks captaincy role after Siya Kolisi was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle.<\/p>\n In fact, it was referee Wayne Barnes who had to tell Fourie that he was captaining the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know I was captain. Wayne Barnes came to me and said, \u2018Listen, Deon, you\u2019re captain now, Siya\u2019s yellow card is remaining a yellow card.\u2019 So I was first flabbergasted that I got that role. And I was barely breathing, but thanks. Thanks for the honour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Fourie retained the captaincy when Jasper Wiese replaced Kolisi after the usual skipper\u2019s return from his sin-binning period. Still, he had another big role to play beyond his captaincy, with the hooker\u2019s scrummaging ability being pivotal in the set-piece.<\/p>\n John Dobson reveals Deon Fourie\u2019s selfless act as Springboks veteran \u2018stood himself down\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Crucial comment to Wayne Barnes<\/p>\n And that came to the fore in the final play of the match when South Africa had the feed to the set-piece and held a one-point lead over the All Blacks. Fourie not only played a crucial role in retaining possession for the Boks, who were under pressure in the set-piece, but also made a crucial comment to referee Barnes to ensure the scrum wasn\u2019t a deciding factor.<\/p>\n \u201cOn that last scrum, luckily, the scrums went very well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt there was no dominance from them, no dominance from us; it was a solid performance from both packs, and I went to Wayne before that last scrum, and I said, \u2018Wayne, there were no issues the whole game with scrums, so don\u2019t let it be an issue now.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then it ended successfully. Well done to Jasper for picking up, leg driving, and keeping the ball up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Open wounds\u2019 from Springboks \u2018hammering\u2019 inspired England\u2019s improvement as Ellis Genge relishes \u2018most dominant pack ever\u2019 challenge<\/a><\/p>\n RG Snyman\u2019s injury<\/p>\n Kitshoff added: \u201cIt was that game where RG Snyman tore his pec; he had no pec left. So we lost RG. Trevor was on the field, and he was holding on for dear life. RG had no power behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n Nyakane revealed the conversation he had with the injured Snyman before that final scrum, where he asked the Bok lock to just do everything he could and fight through the pain.<\/p>\n