Vian Fourie’s wrestling background (he won 13 South African amateur titles) and low centre of gravity make him ideally suited to the ‘fetcher’ role, with his good body positioning ensuring he can take the impact. The 22-year-old is also a strong ball-carrier able to exploit a disorganised defensive line. He knows what 
 his prop needs from him at scrum time, and while he 
is a lineout jumping option, he has mostly been used 
 as part of lifting pods or for ripping at mauls. Fourie captained Western Province at the U13 Craven Week and was vice-captain at the U18 Craven Week. He played two years of 1st XV rugby for South Africa’s No 1 rugby school, Paarl Boys’, and represented SA Schools. Fourie was part of the Sharks team that won the SA Rugby U19 Championship in 2018 and represented 
 the U21 team in 2019 and 2020. He also played for the Sharks XV in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge and was part of the Junior Springboks (SA U20) training squad.