Fourie puts off decision over future in hope of survival

The England flanker has a seat on the plane to the World Cup in the autumn to safeguard and as Leeds face a pivotal fortnight in their future, the 31-year-old acknowledges he will have a big decision to make if he has to play his domestic rugby outside the Premiership spotlight next season.

England hooker Thompson has already opted to to join Wasps next season, regardless of what division Leeds find themselves in.

Neil Back’s side need at least a draw at Heineken Cup finalists Northampton allied with a convincing victory for Bath against Newcastle to avoid the drop for a second straight season.

They could also be reprieved if Cornish Pirates shock Worcester in the Championship play-off final as the Pirates do not meet the criteria to earn promotion to the top flight.

Fourie says he will delay a decision on his future until after the second leg of that tie on May 18 – unless Leeds have not already saved themselves.

He said: “I’m just thinking about this game at the moment, there’s a lot of things depending on the outcome of that so get this game out of the way and win and there’s going to be no decisions to make.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens on Saturday.

“At this moment it looks like if we’re going to be in the Championship then that’s where I’m going to be.”

A lack of contact with his agent and no concrete offers from other Premiership clubs – although Gloucester are rumoured to be interested – appear the reasons for his initial commitment to the Carnegie cause, although the sense is if they are relegated and a top club comes in, he will reluctantly assess his options.

He has a year left on his contract at Headingley and after earning international honours during a stellar four-year stint in West Yorkshire, the South Africa-born flanker suggested he would be content to stay if his Premiership ambitions could be matched.

“It’s been a long journey and I would like to stay on that journey,” said Fourie, who hopes to link up with Martin Johnson’s England warm-up camp in July.

“I still think Leeds could be one of the better clubs, they just need other people to buy into that, to see what it’s like playing up here. If we get good players in certain positions we can do that.

“Leeds is an awesome place to stay and play, we just need better results going our way.”

Fourie has tasted depair and success since joining Leeds from Rotherham Titans with the recognition of six caps for his adopted homeland being the significant highlight of the last 12 months.

He says avoiding relegation this weekend would be ‘pretty much up there’ as one of the greatest moments of his career and is urging his team-mates to be mentally sharp against a buoyant Saints side who need just a single point to cement their place in the Premiership semi-final line-up.

“It’s stressful but you just have to get on with it,” he said of the pressure he and the team are under.

“I’d compare it to when you’re at uni and you have to prepare for an exam or hand in an assignment; you have to be as prepared as you can be and hope for the best.

“Hopefully everyone in the team does the same and we might be able to pull off the unexpected again.

“Having been in this situation (last season) will help us a little bit, but then again everyone needs to turn up mentally prepared and play the best they can do. “We did the same against London Irish last year, so nothing is impossible. If everyone believes then we have a chance. We are one of the only teams to have beaten Gloucester this year.

“We’ve been underdogs the whole season, a few of the times it worked out, hopefully this weekend we can go out and do it.”

Head coach Back was yesterday cagey over the strength of his squad but there are understood to be fitness doubts over Thompson, captain Marco Wentzel, Adrian Jarvis and Luther Burrell.