Jannie du Plessis

Lore & Background

Du Plessis showed promise as a rugby player early, being named as captain of the Eastern Free State age-group team at Craven Week in 1995. While he continued to advance in rugby, playing for Free State representative teams at under-18 and under-19 level, he never represented South Africa at junior level. He studied medicine at the University of the Free State and worked as a doctor, making him one of the few players in the professional era of rugby union to have another career outside of the sport.

He eventually made the senior Free State Cheetahs side in 2003, and continued playing for the Cheetahs through the 2007 Currie Cup. Du Plessis was also named to a South African squad that faced a World XV at Ellis Park in 2006. Du Plessis made his Super 14 debut in 2006 for the Cheetahs. His 2007 Super 14 campaign was hampered by an ankle injury.

After recovering, he was selected for the Springboks squad for the first time during the 2007 Tri Nations, making his debut in the starting XV on 7 July against Australia during the Boks' home leg. The match was significant for him in another way, as his younger brother Bismarck made his Boks debut as a substitute in the same match while he was still on the field. This made the Du Plessis brothers the 23rd set of brothers to earn Springboks caps.

Did You Know?

• Jannie du Plessis was called up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad after finishing an all-night shift at a Bloemfontein hospital, during which he performed a Caesarean section.
• He joined three members of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winners as the only players to earn World Cup and Currie Cup winners' medals in the same year.
• In 2009, Du Plessis used his medical skills to help Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay after Mackay was hit by a car outside a Durban nightclub, helping him breathe and contacting emergency services.