Owls’ coach steps down
Boksburg Rugby Club senior team coach Marcell Fourie has stepped down after just two years at the helm.
When the Advertiser visited Fourie to discuss his decision, he said: “Things became a bit too much. I fell ill and I had the Falcons’ Grant Khomo’s duties so I was hardly at training. I actually made the decision two weeks before the league started.”
Fourie, a former player of the club, starred for the Owls between 2004 and 2006 before taking his talents to Springs where he spent six years before returning to Prince George Park in 2013, where he played until hanging up his boots.
He was part of one of the Owls’ golden generations – the 2014 side which competed in the Cell C Community Cup.
The 32-year-old also confirmed that an overcrowded schedule wasn’t the only reason behind his stepping away from the Owls’ sideline.
“I’m going to play again – the boots are back on.”
Quizzed on where he’s going to play, he commented: “I’m probably going to play for Brakpan. I want to play Gold Cup rugby. My dad won’t be happy reading this because he was a big Boksburg guy. He played over 200 games for Boksburg – he also coached the club.”
Pressed on his decision to come out of retirement, the Hoërskool Hans Moore teacher continued: “ I intend to keep myself busy; I think at the age of 32 I still have a season or two left.”
Fourie made an immediate impact when he arrived in the Owls’ locker room. After a forgettable 2015 which saw the team win just two of their 10 league games, he took them to the play-offs in 2016.
“I’m going to miss the guys, especially on Tuesdays which was our ‘hell night’ at training. It was make or break; it was when the guys actually put in effort at training and you knew you were in a good place.
“It was good. There were good stages and bad stages. We beat Brakpan for the first time in five to six years – it was a very good time at the club.”
Asked to sum up his tenure at PG Park, the trainer replied: “I had a happy first season; second season games didn’t go our way and I felt as if I had let myself and the team down.
“I think the club is in good hands. There’s a great committee that runs the club smoothly and they’re in good hands.
“I think the new coach, Francois Erasmus, is a good signing. He’s one of the best in the Falcon region.”
Erasmus is a former coach at the Brakpan Rugby Club. – @SabeloBoksburg
