Du Plessis ‘worth weight in gold’ - White
Bulls coach Jake White believes veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis will once again have a key role to play during this season’s United Rugby Championship.
The league, into its second season, kicks off on Friday with the Bulls opening their campaign against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The DHL Stormers' Deon Fourie is testament to this, having returned to South Africa in 2021, and his brilliance for the Cape-based franchise was rewarded with a Springboks Test debut at 35 years-old.
The Bulls will be looking to go one better this time around after losing last season’s final against the Stormers in Cape Town.
“He’s worth his weight in gold,” Bulls coach Jake White said of Du Plessis.
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It was White who gave Du Plessis the first of his 79 Test caps and their careers have dovetailed since - at the Cell C Sharks in 2013-14, in Montpellier between 2015-2017 and again reunited when the hard man jumped at the opportunity to swap the south of France for Pretoria in 2021.
“Since I came to play for the Bulls, I have rediscovered my love for rugby,” Du Plessis said in an interview earlier this week.
“It’s probably because it reminds me of when I started at the Sharks - when I was a young player there, guys like Johan Ackermann and Percy Montgomery had a big influence on my career. I would like to give back, even if it is only a small contribution.”
Du Plessis made a huge contribution to the Bulls’ cause last season, even though he started just four times in 13 appearances.
“I had a gut feeling about Bismarck,” White said of Du Plessis’ role in closing out a shock 27-26 victory over Leinster in last season’s Dublin semi-final.
“I got a feeling that his presence (would be important) at the back end of the game - talking to the other players, controlling the scrums with the referee – and I thought he was outstanding.”
The Bulls have two outstanding hooker prospects in Johannes Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Du Plessis’ body of work is a portfolio of brute force and physicality, but at this point in his career the 38-year-old will be tested in how he responds to the growing challenge from young guns who believe they’re bulletproof.
“I think this will be a big challenge for Bismarck,” said White. “But I’ve known him since he was 18 and I’ve coached him for South Africa, as the captain at the Sharks, in the Top 14 and now at the Bulls.
“In his life, Bismarck has passed every test with flying colours. He got straight As in school, played first team water polo and went to three world cups. He’s the real deal.
“Can he throw better than most hookers? Yes. Does he still dominate in the scrum? Yes. Does he have an aura that people respect on the field? Yes.
“Even though he’s older than his teammates, he is still among the top three or four players in our fitness tests. Like Morne Steyn, he’s a real professional and a role model – you couldn’t ask for more in an older player.”
