My Life in Rugby: Hendre Fourie – former England, Sale, Leeds & Rotherham flanker

The pinnacle of my career came in the summer of 2010 – Leeds had just stayed in the Premiership and Martin Johnson rang me and told me that I was going to Australia.
It was my first tour with England so it was huge. I didn’t get a cap but when I was picked in the first autumn international squad and wasn’t sent home on the Tuesday I was ecstatic.
I was really nervous arriving at Twickenham for my debut against New Zealand. Facing the Haka was nerve-wracking, but when the game started I just relaxed and thought back to all the training I had been doing.
I got eight caps but I missed the 2011 World Cup. I was left out of the squad, then called back in for the warm-up matches but then injured my knee against Ireland.
I hoped I’d have got a couple more caps. Stuart Lancaster came into the England job just after my eighth cap and he was asking me when I was going to get fit again.
He was the guy who signed me at Leeds and knew what I could do. At that stage I was probably one of the only specialist No.7s in the country, with Lewis Moody retiring and Chris Robshaw only just getting started.
Had it not been for the injuries I would have definitely fought for a couple more caps – I moved to Sale for the 2011-12 season but I just couldn’t shake off the injuries.
Being one of the major sports in South Africa you are born to love rugby.
When I was at Bloemfontein University I got spotted by the Free State provincial A team, so I went to the University of Free State and played for their first team as well as a few Vodafone Cup games for Free State Cheetahs.
The coach who was at Rotherham, Andre Bester, was friends with the fitness coach at Free State University. Andre needed a back row and at that stage I’d just finished my studies. I was looking for either a rugby contract or another job so I came to England with the initial thought of staying a year.
As time went on I began to experience what Division One was about – especially the physicality and the toughness of it all. And the mud.
When Leeds approached me I was looking forward to playing in the Premiership against all the stars that I’d only seen on the television.
After five years here, I got the England call but when I retired I was threatened with deportation to South Africa because my visa was no longer valid.
I got through that tough time with the help of the Rugby Players Association.
When you find out you have to retire, I can only give you one word and that’s ‘devastating’ even after the warning signs of three operations.
But as well as helping with my visas, the RPA also helped me obtain a level two coaching qualification so that I can now work as a community coach for Sale.