Bismarck du Plessis

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Bismarck du Plessis
Bismarck du Plessis
Personal information
Date of birth	May 22, 1984 (1984-05-22) (age 24)
Place of birth	Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight	112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
School	Grey College
Notable relative(s)	Jannie du Plessis (brother)
Occupation(s)	Professional Rugby Union Player
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Hooker
Provincial/State sides
	Natal Sharks
Super Rugby		Caps	(points)
2005-	Sharks
National team(s)		Caps	(points)
2007-	South Africa		(24)

Bismarck du Plessis (born 22 May 1984) is a South African rugby union player, who plays for South Africa and for the Natal Sharks.

A native of the town of Bethlehem in the Free State province, Bismarck du Plessis made his debut for the Sharks in the Super 14 (then the Super 12) in 2005. As he plays hooker and plays in the same team as South Africa's captain John Smit, he is mainly backup to Smit. Despite this he has played in the Super 14 and Currie Cup whenever Smit is unavailable, and in 2007 was selected to play for South Africa in the Tri Nations Series. He made his debut for South Africa against Australia in Sydney. Significantly, he debuted as a substitute in the same match that his older brother Jannie, who was in the starting XV for the match, made his Boks debut.^[1] This made the du Plessis brothers the 23rd set of brothers to earn Springboks caps.^[2]

Following an illness to Pierre Spies, Bismarck was brought into South Africa's squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Jannie would later join him on the World Cup squad, being called up to replace BJ Botha, who blew out a knee in the Boks' final pool match against the USA.^[3]

Bismarck's versatality has put him in serious contention as the first choice hooker for the Springboks. Even though John Smit retains the captaincy role for the boks, Bismarck's ability to run faster, drive harder, and handle the ball superbly, have made him a fan favorite and his youth could be key in building him into one of the greatest hookers to ever play the game.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Bismarck du Plessis. sharksrugby.co.za. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
• Bismarck du Plessis. sarugby.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
• Cadden, Phil. Tri Nations Head to Head - Keven Mealamu v Bismarck du Plessis. statrugby.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
• Mr Bismarck DU PLESSIS. whoswhosa.co.za. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
• "Du Plessis replaces injured Spies", bbc.co.uk, 2007-07-31. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. 

v • d • e South Africa squad - 2007 Rugby World Cup Forwards B. Botha • BJ Botha (injured) • G. Botha • Burger • B. du Plessis • J. du Plessis (sub) • du Randt • Matfield • Muller • Rossouw • Skinstad • Smit (c) • Smith • Steenkamp • van den Berg • van der Linde • van Heerden Backs de Villiers (injured) • du Preez • Fourie • Habana • James • Januarie • Julies (sub) • Montgomery • Ndungane • Olivier • Pietersen • Pienaar • Pretorius • Steyn • Willemse Coach White

v • d • e Sharks – current squad Forwards Botha • Carstens • Cilliers • J. du Plessis • Harris • Lensing • Mtawarira • Badenhorst • Burden • B. du Plessis • Jenneker • Ackermann • Hargreaves • Muller • Snyman • Sykes • van den Berg • Blignaut • Botes • Daniel • Venter • Deysel • Kankowski Backs Kockott • Mathie • McLeod • Pienaar • Michalak • Steyn • Barritt • Jacobs • Murray • Strauss • Taione • Mentz • Ndungane • Wagenstroom • Matyeshana • Pietersen • Terblanche Coach Muir

Persondata
NAME	Bismarck du Plessis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	South African rugby union footballer.
DATE OF BIRTH	22 May 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH