Jaque Fourie (born 4 March 1983) is a South African former professional
rugby union player. He was a versatile backline player whose usual position was in the centres. He was a member of the
2007 Rugby World Cup winning team, playing at outside centre for 6 out of 7 matches, including all 80 minutes of the
World Cup Final, which South Africa won 15–6.
Career
Fourie made his international debut on 11 October at the
2003 Rugby World Cup at outside centre for the Springboks against
Uruguay at
Subiaco Oval in
Perth, and scored a
try on debut. He also played against
Georgia during the pool stages, scoring another try. He was a reserve for subsequent World Cup games against
Samoa and the
All Blacks.
The following year he played in the
IRB Rugby Aid Match and was a reserve for the Springboks against Uruguay and
France in June, before being included in the Springboks
2005 Tri Nations Series. He played in a further three tests that November. In 2006, he played for the Springboks during the
mid year tests and after that he became the first-choice outside centre in the side, usually playing alongside
Jean de Villiers (at inside centre).
On 20 October 2007 he won a Rugby World Cup winners' medal when South Africa beat England 15–6 in the
2007 Rugby World Cup final in Paris.
After playing much of 2008 and the 2009 series against the
British & Irish Lions off the bench, he was back in the starting team for the 2009 Tri-Nations campaign (won by South Africa). He played his 50th test match for South Africa in a 6–21 loss to Australia in Brisbane on 5 September 2009.
In March 2010 a try scored by Fourie was named as the
International Rugby Players Association Try of the Year 2009. The try, scored in the 74th minute of the second Test against the British & Irish Lions in Pretoria in June, sealed a dramatic
Series victory for the Springboks.[3]
In March 2017, Fourie was named as part of a new re-branded
Western Force team to play in the new World Series Rugby in the lead up to the National Rugby Championship.[4]