Jean-Luc du Plessis could become a serious contender in the battle for the Springbok No 10 jersey, writes SIMNIKIWE XABANISA.
On the night on which Newlands came to see the second coming of the Springboks’ designated saviour, another flyhalf with pedigree nicked Handré Pollard’s thunder.
Thanks to being Carel du Plessis’ son and the crazy eyed Michael du Plessis’ nephew, young Jean-Luc du Plessis is on personal terms with pedigree. But on Saturday night against the Bulls, the Stormers flyhalf showed that it’s not just an inheritance, it’s something that he, too, possesses.
The battle for Bok flyhalf is expected to play itself out between Pollard, Elton Jantjies and Pat Lambie this season.
But while Pollard battles to shake the rust shown in the Super Rugby opener last Saturday; Jantjies looks to regain an effervescence flattened by playing for the Boks; and Lambie tries to be less innocuous in games, Du Plessis lurks as a dark horse for the Bok team should they not get it right.
As flyhalves go, the 22-year-old is a slightly strange one. Most 10s are known for something: Naas Botha his kicking, Jonny Wilkinson his defence, Beauden Barrett his scarcely believable acceleration off the mark, etc.
When it comes to Du Plessis, he exudes none of that glow – not to mention cool – the men who never get their shorts dirty do.
The answer to that may well be even though he was a decent enough cricketer for a decision to have to be made between the two sports, he’s a touch on the stocky side at 1.78m and 93kg, dimensions which have informed the way he plays.
In terms of his skills, nothing in particular catches your eye. He finds his touch-finders, nails his goal-kicks, doles out his variety of passes, makes his tackles and even pokes his head into more rucks than you would expect a flyhalf to do.
Simply put, his basics are sound and he scores pretty high marks in most of the boxes he is expected to tick for his position.
Where he does possess special qualities is between the ears, where he appears to have combined his father’s rugby smarts and subtle genius, his uncle’s willingness to push the envelope and the kind of toughness that harks back to Wilkinson in the days he used to cut flankers in half in defence.
Du Plessis’ rugby intellect shows in his instinct for where the space is and what to do to exploit it. His cheek resides in his willingness to take the path less-travelled, whether it’s for his career or on the field.
ALSO READ: Bok barometer (Round 1)
Despite having the red carpet laid out for him as a Du Plessis in Cape Town, he still took his chances by going to the Sharks Academy for his start in rugby. On the field an awful lot of what he does is off-the-cuff.
And the best thing with that is when something he tries does not come off he doesn’t deflate like most South African players and try to hide for the rest of the game. He just shrugs it off and bombs on to the next potential mistake.
That said, his misguided bravery will likely interfere with his career by earning him lengthy stints off the field with injury, as was the case in his maiden Super Rugby season last year. Few flyhalves fly into contact like Du Plessis does, and few accept the challenge of being head-hunted for big hits by opposing flankers the same way either.
Encouragingly, Du Plessis was named in Bok coach Allister Coetzee’s first extended squad camp this week. While it means he is in with a sniff, one has to wonder if his independent nature won’t prove too much for that regime.
– Xabanisa is a freelance sports writer.
Photo: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
