DHL Stormers prop Neethling Fouché has never lost sight of the “bigger picture” beyond the rugby field. And he has his parents to thank for that.
It was as a young rugby-mad teenager in his parents’ home that DHL Stormers prop Neethling Fouché was taught a few key lessons that he still draws on to this day amidst the ups and downs of a Vodacom United Rugby Championship season, or the similar seasons of his life.
Core Memories
They were lessons as simple as the plate of food in front of him, or as complex as somebody good struck down by cancer. But the 32-year-old Fouché has carefully filed every one of those memories and believes they’re at the core of what he’s trying to achieve on the rugby field with his team, as a father for his daughter, and as an athlete living in what he calls the “bubble” of life as a professional rugby player.
Stepping out the “Bubble”
It’s exactly why he also makes time to consciously step out of that “bubble” and visit places like the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, which he did with the entire DHL Stormers team and Vodacom over the festive season, to remind himself of the bigger picture his coach John Dobson also keeps the team focused on.
‘If life, places that make you uncomfortable are where you grow.’
“In life you have to go to places that make you uncomfortable because that’s where you grow. As rugby players we live in a bubble. ‘Dobbo’ has always been about the bigger picture of not just playing rugby for ourselves but making the people of the Western Cape smile. There is so much hardship in life, and for the two hours we’re playing we can make people forget about that hardship,” says Fouché.
“For many of us the festive season is a special time for friends and family, but for others it’s still a stressful time. A time when they have to work to put food on the table, or are in hospital like the kids we visited. December doesn’t change the illness they have. My godchild was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was three years old. That battle that we went through with her parents just put everything into perspective. Life isn’t normal anymore because you’re constantly thinking about that child and the treatment she was going through. Then one of my best friends had leukaemia when he was 21. He was also a rugby player and I saw how that illness just struck him down. It makes you realise that all of this is temporary and it makes those moments we have with each other just so much more important.”
Fouché says it was the example of his own parents that he has carried with him and seeks to impart on his young family as well.
‘My parents never had a lot, but they always helped.’
“In our house you had to finish the plate of food in front of you. If you didn’t, my parents told us to put it in a box and give that food to somebody who would appreciate it. From a young age that’s the example they set for us – to never be wasteful about anything. My parents never had a lot, but they always helped. Whenever kids in my school couldn’t afford to go on some of the rugby tours, they helped out.
‘I want my daughter to be proud to say, ‘Neethling is my dad’.’
“As I’ve become a dad, I want to make my daughter proud. I want her to be proud to say, ‘Neethling is my dad’ and remember what I stood for. During Covid I listened to a sermon and the pastor asked what your lockdown legacy will be. I was in a weird spot in my career and not making the team every weekend. I didn’t want to come out of Covid being the same guy. I knuckled down and trained hard and ticked the boxes I could, and when I came back I was fit and strong and took the opportunity that came my way. That’s the legacy I want to leave behind for my kids – to really work hard.”