Cape Town — He will turn 38 in May, but the Bismarck du Plessis ship is far from sailing into the sunset.
The former Springbok hooker — who earned 79 Test caps between 2007 and 2015 — may not be the same irrepressible No 2 from his prime years at the Sharks, but there is no doubt that he is still hungry for the rough and tumble of South African rugby.
Griqua Park in Kimberley is one of the least glamorous venues for professional rugby, but that didn’t stop Du Plessis from proving that class is permanent with an all-action display in the Bulls’ 53-27 Currie Cup win over Griquas on Saturday.
When the Pretoria side needed someone to carry the ball into the faces of the home side, Du Plessis was there. When they needed a turnover at the breakdown, Du Plessis was there. When they needed a forward to operate in the wide channels and make easy metres — or basketball-type offloads — Du Plessis was there.
When the Bulls needed accurate lineout throws to set up driving mauls or to play off the top, Du Plessis was their man.
He could easily have been the Man of the Match — the award went to an equally deserving flyhalf Chris Smith, who scored 18 points and claimed large tracts of territory with the boot.
But it was Du Plessis who lit the fire of the Bulls pack in the face of a typically efficient Griquas onslaught, and guided them to calmer waters as they ran in seven tries to claim a bonus-point victory.
“It seems like he’s not getting older. It’s good to have him in the squad, and it just shows his value. Even with his age, he is still playing some good rugby, and it is really nice having him in the squad,” Bulls coach Gert Smal said afterwards.
“I think he gives a lot of confidence to the players around him, and it’s lovely to have him.
“We hope that we can get some of those experienced players who are overseas back at some stage — I don’t know when or if it will ever happen — and keep some of our experienced players here in South Africa, because we are going to need it going ahead, wanting to win URCs and good Test matches.”
Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee added in a SuperSport TV interview: “The oupa played well! He’s showing us youngsters how to play rugby, and I’m just so proud of him and I enjoy playing with him. He is a character in the team, and the young guys just feed off his experience. But ja, great performance from him.”
So, the rest of the hookers in the Currie Cup and United Rugby Championship have been warned: Watch out for Bismarck du Plessis!
IOL Sport