UP-Tuks hooker Werner Fourie will miss the rest of the 2020 Varsity Cup season after undergoing surgery on a brain tumour on Wednesday.
Fourie was instrumental in helping Tuks to a come-from-behind win against NWU, a game in which he scored three tries in the first Varsity Cup match of the season.
However, the day after the win he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery this week.
The 21-year-old Information Science student, who was part of the Vodacom Bulls team which won the U21 Championship last year, admits it was a shock when he heard he had a brain tumour.
‘I did not expect anything,’ Fourie said. ‘After the game against North West, I started to develop a headache that progressively worsened. That is why I went to the hospital. At most, I thought I might be concussed. It was only after I have undergone a scan that it was revealed that I have a brain tumour.
‘In hindsight, the best thing I could have done was going to the hospital. If I did not, I would in all probability have gone on playing. The end consequences could have been dire.’
Fourie added that to watch his teammates battle it out on the field with nothing he could do to assist them was a harrowing experience.
‘I don’t think I would like to go through something like that again. I tend to stress out completely. I would rather be on the field in the midst of things putting my body on the line.’
UP-Tuks’ head coach Nico Luus emphasised the last thing Fourie needs to worry about now is rugby.
‘He is undoubtedly going to be missed in our Varsity Cup campaign as he is such a special talent, but the most important thing is that he should fully recover. In the end, rugby is only a game. It is the life after you stop playing that genuinely matters.’
Photo: Christiaan Kotze
*Follow us on our new Instagram journey by clicking here
