Morné du Plessis

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Morné du Plessis

Player information
birthday	October 21, 1949
place of birth	Vereeniging , South Africa
size	1.95 m
society
society	Career ended
position	Number eight
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
1971-1980	Western Province	112 ()
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
1971-1980	South Africa	22 (12)

Morné du Plessis OIS (born October 21, 1949 in Transvaal ) is a former South African rugby union player, who is often referred to as one of the most successful captains of the Springboks . During the five years he was captain from 1975 to 1980, the Springboks won 13 out of 15 games, giving Du Plessis a success rate of 86.66% as captain.

Du Plessi's father, Felix, was also the captain of a springbok rugby team, and his mother, Pat, captained the South African women's national hockey team . Felix and Morné are the only father-and-son team that has so far provided Springbok captains. Morné is the only Springbok captain whose parents led national teams as captains. Morné du Plessis was named manager of the 1995 Springbok team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup .

Together with Tim Noakes, Du Plessis founded the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Cape Town , the Bioenergetics of Exercise Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and the Medical Research Council (renamed to UCT / MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine in 2000) .

Early life and career

Du Plessis was born in Vereeniging on October 21, 1949 , several sources identify Krugersdorp as Du Plessi's birthplace, including the International Rugby Hall of Fame and ESPN Scrum. In an interview, Du Plessis stated Vereeniging as his place of birth; this is confirmed in his profile on the official Springboks website. His mother, Pat (née Smethurst), was the captain of South Africa's national women's hockey team in 1954. A maternal uncle, Horace, was the captain of the South African national soccer team , which toured Australia and New Zealand in 1947.

His father Felix was born on November 24, 1919 in Steynsburg, Free State . Felix played in the position of the lock and made his debut for South Africa on July 16, 1949 at Newlands Stadium , Cape Town against the All Blacks of captain Fred Allen . His team - including Springbok stars Tjol Lategan, Hannes Brewis, Okey Geffin and Hennie Müller - defeated the All Blacks 3-0 in three games. Six weeks after the last friendly, Morné was born. Felix worked as a representative for the South African Breweries, then changed jobs and went to Vereeniging to manage the sports and recreation department of Iscor (now part of ArcelorMittal ). He moved to Stilfontein , where he opened a liquor store, one of the first in town. Morné remembers his father as a gentle and withdrawn personality who only watched his son play rugby when he was already at Stellenbosch University. Felix Du Plessis died in Stilfontein in 1978 at the age of 58 and only played the three test matches against New Zealand.

In 1966 Du Plessis enrolled at Gray College , Bloemfontein , where he excelled more in cricket than rugby. While he was not nominated for Free State Craven Week (rugby tournament), he was taken to the 1966 South African Schools XI (cricket tournament) as a seam bowler . At university he initially played fly-half in rugby , but later switched to the position of center to make way for future national rugby player Dawie Snyman.

Wilgenhof men's residence , where Du Plessis lived during his stay at Stellenbosch University.

Du Plessis completed his military service at Naval High School in Saldanha Bay in 1967.

From 1968 to 1972 he studied industrial psychology at the University of Stellenbosch and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Du Plessis lived at the university's Wilgenhof men's residence . Built in 1903, Wilgenhof is not only the oldest university men's home in South Africa, but was also inhabited and later managed by the future national player and rugby association president Danie Craven . Craven was the director of Wilgenhof during the time Du Plessis lived there.

At Stellenbosch University, Du Plessis was initially more interested in cricket than rugby; he had decided to go to university to play cricket on the university team. Because of his outstanding skills, he was appointed to the South African university cricket team in 1971, and in the same year to the Western Province cricket team . In his five first-class games as a right-arm medium pace bowler , he scored 16 wickets with an average of 25.62 runs per wicket. His best performance was 4 wickets for 71 runs. When Barry Richards, the batsman of the selection of South Africa and the team Natal , against Du Plessis in the final of the Castle Cup two sixes before lunch suggested, you decided Plessis that he might rather should concentrate on rugby.

At Stellenbosch University, where rugby is far more popular than cricket, and in a dormitory with a strong rugby tradition, Du Plessis' attention has drawn to rugby. He later recalled, "If you go to Stellenbosch to play cricket, it is like going to India to play rugby". After his first year of rugby in Stellenbosch, he played for the university's first team in the position of lock and was later selected for the province's U-20 team in the same position. Despite Du Plessi's height of six feet, coach Craven thought he was too short to play Lock and placed him in the position of eighthman . In 1971 Du Plessis was called up to the rugby team of the Western Province and was eventually named captain. His 103 games as captain for the province are still a record today.

International career

Du Plessis made his friendly debut in 1971 during the Springboks tour of Australia . The test team included Joggie Jansen, Syd Nomis, Frik du Preez , Jan Ellis and Piet Greyling. Du Plessis played eightman in all three test matches. The South African Springboks won 18-6 in Sydney , 14-6 in Brisbane and 19-11 in Sydney.

Du Plessis, known for not mincing words according to Rugby Union President Craven , soon ran into trouble with South Africa's rugby association after wearing his springbok blazer with jeans. His liberal views, in which he was influenced by Frederik van Zyl Slabbert , and his later support for the Progressive Federal Party , ran counter to the conservative politics of the rugby union . In addition, there were repeated controversial incidents during his national and international career. In preparation of the Springboks for the 1975 tour of France, Du Plessis knocked Kleintjie Grobler ko. Journalists later described Gobler as "damned" and "enforcer". Nevertheless, Du Plessis and Grobler played together in the national team against the Tricoleres that year. But the most notorious incident was the foul on Naas Botha. Du Plessis broke Botha with a "late hit" in the 1977 Currie Cup semifinals . The subsequent penalty from full-back Pierre Edwards was successful, Du Plessis and his team lost the game 17-15. The Loftus Versfeld fans (Grobler's team) were so angry that Du Plessis had to be escorted from the field by the police.

In 1974, the Springboks faced the British Lions touring South Africa who swept the country without defeat. They won 19 of 20 games on South African soil (plus one in Namibia and one in Rhodesia ), the Lions only drew in their last friendly. They destroyed the unfortunate South Western Districts 97-0 team at the Van Riebeeck Ground , JJ Williams scored six attempts, Alan Old converted 15 times. Du Plessis played in the first two test matches and was not nominated for the third. During the first loose scramble of the first test match at Newlands, Du Plessis received an unwarranted blow from Derek Quinnell. The swelling nearly closed his eye, but he refused to retaliate. The test game series was characterized by frequent player changes on the South African side. So one tried to master the British overwhelming power, only four players played all four test matches.

At the end of the 1974 season, Du Plessis played the Springbok Tour in France. South Africa won both friendly matches against France, 13-4 in Toulouse and 10-8 in Prinzenparkstadion in Paris. For the 1975 tour of France through South Africa, Du Plessis was appointed Springbok captain. He started off successfully as a skipper and the Springboks won 38-25 in Bloemfontein and 33-18 in Pretoria.

In 1976 the Springboks played a tough four-test series against the All Blacks . They won the first test game 16-7 but lost the second 15-9. Du Plessis and his teammates returned in the third game and won 15-10. The Springboks won the series with a 15-14 win over the New Zealanders in their fourth and final match. The following year he led the Springboks to 45-24 victory over a World XV team in Pretoria . Although anti-apartheid boycotts increasingly isolated South African sports teams, the Springboks faced the South American Jaguars in two games in 1980 . The Jaguars consisted mostly of Argentine players. South Africa won 24-9 in Johannesburg and 18-9 in Durban. Du Plessis led the Springboks in 1980 in South Africa as captain against the British Lions and was able to win the four-friendly series 3-1. On the South African rugby tour of South America, he was only able to play two games, including only one international match against the South American Jaguars, due to an injury he sustained in a Currie Cup match .

The fact that Du Plessis suddenly ended his rugby career before touring New Zealand in 1981 was due to a combination of mental exhaustion and the death of his Western Province teammate, Chris-Burger, in a Currie Cup game. In the 1980 game against the Free State at Bloemfontein team , the 28-year-old Burger died after sustaining a neck injury, either while being tackled by two players or during the loose scrum that followed. Craven tried to convince Du Plessis to keep playing and remained convinced that if Du Plessis had played the tour, South Africa would have won the series.

All in all, Du Plessis played 32 games for South Africa, winning 18 of 22 friendly matches. With him as captain, the Springboks won 13 games and lost only two.

International games

opponent	Result (SAT 1.)	position	Tries	date	Host place
Australia	19-11	Number 8		17th July 1971	Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney
Australia	14-6	Number 8		July 31 1971	Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane
Australia	18-6	Number 8		7th August 1971	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
British and Irish Lions	3-12	Number 8		8th June 1974	Newlands Stadium , Cape Town
British and Irish Lions	9-28	Flank		June 22 1974	Loftus Versfeld Stadium , Pretoria
France	13-4	Number 8		23rd November 1974	Stade Municipal , Toulouse
France	10-8	Number 8		November 30, 1974	Parc des Princes , Paris
France	38-25	Number 8		June 21st 1975	Free State Stadium , Bloemfontein
France	33-18	Number 8	1	June 28th 1975	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
New Zealand	16-7	Number 8		24th July 1976	Kings Park Stadium , Durban
New Zealand	9-15	Number 8		August 14, 1976	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
New Zealand	15-10	Number 8		4th September 1976	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
New Zealand	15-14	Number 8		September 18, 1976	Ellis Park Stadium , Johannesburg
World XV	45-24	Number 8		August 27, 1977	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
south America	24-9	Number 8		April 26, 1980	Wanderers Stadium , Johannesburg
south America	18-9	Number 8	1	May 3rd 1980	Kings Park Stadium , Durban
British and Irish Lions	26-22	Number 8		May 31, 1980	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
British and Irish Lions	26-19	Number 8		June 14, 1980	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
British and Irish Lions	12-10	Number 8		June 28, 1980	Boet Erasmus Stadium , Port Elizabeth
British and Irish Lions	13-17	Number 8		July 12, 1980	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
south America	30-16	Number 8	1	October 25, 1980	Prince of Wales Cricket Club, Santiago
France	37-15	Number 8		November 8, 1980	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria

legacy

aftermath

Du Plessis contributed in many ways to the game he played. In addition to co-founding the Sports Science Institute , he founded the Chris Burger Fund in 1980 , of which he is chairman. The fund was renamed the Chris Burger Pedro Jackson Players' Fund . Du Plessi's organization raises funds for the financial support of seriously or catastrophically injured South African rugby players and aims to prevent injuries. The Fund has set up a 24-hour toll-free emergency hotline in the event of serious rugby injuries.

He was elected a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy and was appointed chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation (South Africa). Laureus raised 260 million rand to improve the living conditions of disadvantaged young people and supports 11 projects in South Africa and around 70 worldwide.

Honors

Du Plessis was nominated for South Africa's Rugby Player of the Year in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980.

He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1999 , and into the South African Sports and Art Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 2007 Du Plessis was awarded the Silver Order of Ikhamanga by the South African government for "excellence in rugby ... and the use of sport for social change".

Personal

Du Plessis is married and has two sons and a daughter.

Business

Du Plessis first started marketing sporting goods and then established Sport Plan (Pty) Ltd to develop "high quality sport, service and medical facilities". Sports Plan merged into Sail (Pty) Ltd and Du Plessis became a director in the Sail Group (renamed MARC Group Ltd.). Sail specializes in “high performance management ... event creation and ownership, rights commercialization”. The MARC Group owns 50% of the Blue Bulls Company and 24.9% of the Western Province Rugby and Griffons Rugby teams . Sail also manages the Sports Science Institute .

Initially involved with the Consortium Stade de France in the development and management of the Cape Town Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Sail withdrew from the project in 2010. Du Plessis, then the CEO of the Sail de Stade Operating Company , stated that the creation of the stadium made no financial sense for the group's shareholders. He stressed that the stadium was an asset and "a brilliant investment" and while the cost of managing the stadium was significant, it should not be an insurmountable problem for the city of Cape Town .

Publications

• Tim Noakes, Morné du Plessis: Rugby Without Risk: A Practical Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Rugby Injuries. Van Schaik, Pretoria 1996, ISBN 0-627-01947-1 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Morne du Plessis - Test matches. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
2. ↑ The Springbok rugby team lead by Morné du Plessis. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on January 20, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ Mafika: Morne du Plessis: a true leader . In: Brand South Africa . March 28, 2002 ( brandsouthafrica.com [accessed September 17, 2017]).
4. ↑ ^{a b c} 'Your captain is a great guy…' In: SuperSport official website . ( supersport.com [accessed September 17, 2017]).
5. ↑ Morné Du Plessis. In: Who's Who SA. Retrieved September 17, 2017 (English). 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} SA Rugby - Official Home of the Springboks. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Vanjaar dalk grote vir Grace Yazbek. (No longer available online.) In: Volksblad. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015 ; Retrieved January 20, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ South Africa International Matches 1947–1955. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
9. ↑ Socceroo 1947 matches. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b c} SA Sports & Arts Hall of Fame. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 ; Retrieved January 20, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ^ The History of ArcelorMittal South Africa. (PDF) ArcelorMittal, accessed on September 16, 2017 (English). 
12. ↑ Felix du Plessis. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Springbok Rugby Tests. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 16, 2013 ; accessed on September 17, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players' Fund: Morné du Plessis. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 20, 2009 ; Retrieved January 19, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Wilgenhof Manskoshuis. Retrieved September 17, 2017 (American English). 
16. ↑ Leadership. March 28, 2008. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 ; Retrieved January 19, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
17. ↑ Morne Du Plessis. Cricinfo, accessed September 17, 2017 . 
18. ↑ Mighty Morne. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 ; Retrieved January 20, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ^ Western Province - Statistics - SuperSport - Rugby. Retrieved September 17, 2017 . 
20. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Rugby: Morné du Plessis - SouthAfrica.info ( Memento of February 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
21. ^ ^{A b} Staff Reporter: Morne's back in the scrum . In: The M&G Online . ( mg.co.za [accessed September 17, 2017]).
22. ^ John Carlin: Playing the enemy. Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation . Penguin Books, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-14-311572-4 .
23. ↑ Sometimes you have to do it | IOL sports . ( iol.co.za [accessed September 17, 2017]).
24. ^ The Post . ( thepost.co.za [accessed September 17, 2017]).
25. ↑ Does it get any better than Bulls v WP? | Cape Argus . ( iol.co.za [accessed September 17, 2017]).
26. ↑ Match details: SWD 0-97 British and Irish Lions ". Retrieved January 20, 2013 . 
27. ↑ Mafika: Morne du Plessis: a true leader . In: Brand South Africa . March 28, 2002 ( southafrica.info [accessed September 17, 2017]). southafrica.info ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
28. ↑ Vivian Jenkins: Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1981-82 . Rothmans Publications, 1981, ISBN 0-907574-05-X , pp. 18-30 .
29. ↑ Vivian Jenkins: Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1981-82 . Rothmans Publications & Queen Anne Press, 1981, ISBN 0-907574-05-X , pp. 52 .
30. ↑ Leadership. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 ; Retrieved January 20, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
31. ^ PH Tebbutt: Samaritan of South African rugby. history of the Chris Burger / Petro Jackson Players Fund (1980-2010) . 1st ed. Sun Press, [South Africa] 2010, ISBN 978-1-920338-41-1 .
32. ↑ ^{a b} Chris Burger / Petro Jackson Players' Fund: About Us. (No longer available online.) In: Players Fund. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013 ; accessed on September 17, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
33. ↑ ^{a b} Mafika: Four SA sport heroes honored . In: Brand South Africa . September 23, 2007 ( southafrica.info [accessed September 17, 2017]). southafrica.info ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
34. ↑ Welcome to the official South African government online site! | South African Government. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 4, 2011 ; accessed on September 17, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
35. ^ Sunday Times interview with Morne du Plessis. (No longer available online.) In: Players Fund. Formerly in the original ; accessed on September 17, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
36. ^ "MARC Group: Group Structure". (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 22, 2012 ; Retrieved January 19, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
37. ↑ . "MARC Group: Innovation (no longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2013 , accessed 19 January 2013 at . Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested Please review the original and archive link under. Instructions and then remove this notice.  
38. ↑ Cape stadium 'musn't be flattened' . In: Fin24 . ( fin24.com [accessed September 17, 2017]).
39. ^ Tens join rugby festival . In: News24 . ( sport24.co.za [accessed September 17, 2017]).
40. ↑ . MARC Group: About Us - History " (. No longer available online) Archived from the original on June 22, 2012 , accessed 19 January 2013 at . Info: . The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested Please review the original and Archive link according to instructions and then remove this note.