Tuks hooker diagnosed as having a brain tumour
Tuks' rugged hooker got a huge shock when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour a day after a Varsity Cup rugby match.
Tuks’s Werner Fourie is used to overcoming adversities on a rugby field, because for him playing hooker it is always about when the going gets tough the tough get going.
This has led to him so often being able to change the outcome of any game. Earlier this season he was instrumental in helping Tuks stage a comeback in their first Varsity Cup-encounter against Northwest University when he scored three tries.
His heroics, unfortunately, seemingly had a dire consequence.
A mere day after that game, he was diagnosed as having a brain tumour and he heard that he had to be operated as soon as possible to remove it.
Still, Fourie refuses to feel sorry for himself. A few days after he was diagnosed, he was in the stands when Tuks possible staged one of the most heroic comebacks in the history of Tuks rugby. With merely twenty minutes on the clock remaining, Tuks was trailing 24-7 against UJ. Still, in the end, they managed to win 26-24.
Fourie admitted afterwards 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. Every time you don the jersey, it is all about not letting your team down,” he said.
He admits it to be a shock when the doctor told him that he had a brain tumour.
“I did not expect anything. After the game against Northwest, I started to develop a headache which progressively worsened. That is why I went to the doctor. 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 consequences could have been dire,” he explained.
If Fourie can have his way, he would be on the rugby field in the foreseeable future doing what he relishes. That is to help the teams he plays for winning games. He, however, realises it might take some time before he can do so.
Tuks’s head coach, Nico Luus, emphasised the last thing Fourie needs to worry for 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 stopped playing that genuinely matters,” Luus commented.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
