The brothers Du Plessis are truly rare breed
WHEN Jannie du Plessis dreams of blissful happiness and fantasises about a perfect scene, holding the Webb Ellis Cup aloft is not top of his list.
What really moves him is the sight of Friesian cattle grazing in green grass and reviving a dairy on the family farm near Bethlehem in the Free State.
“Looking at those black and white coats surrounded by green fields is one of the most beautiful sights in the world,” Jannie said with a wistful look.
“When I have more time we might restart the dairy again.”
For 48 years, the Du Plessis farm, in addition to farming cattle and maize, had a dairy. But with Jannie and his brother Bismarck off making their names on the rugby field, coupled with their father’s poor health, the dairy closed.
Jannie wants to fix that, but first there is the small matter of the 2015 England Rugby World Cup to deal with. That will be followed by a stint in French club rugby at Montpellier. As always, Bismarck will join him, where the brothers are set to rekindle their complex relationship with coach Jake White.
Siblings in rugby are not unusual but few have almost identical overlapping careers. This month, the Du Plessis’s will have the rare privilege of being the first set of brothers to compete at three Rugby World Cup tournaments together.
At this year’s Rugby World Cup alone, there will be 10 sets of brothers, including three — the Pisis (Tusi, Ken and George) from Samoa and Tom and Ben Youngs from England.
But none have had the longevity of the Springbok front-row pair, who were named as part of the 31-man Bok squad last Friday. Rugby World Cup 2015 is likely to cap what will no doubt be their international swansong together.
The Du Plessis brothers have played a record 44 tests togeth- er and might extend that record to 50 if they stay fit and the Boks make it all the way. Jannie, 32, is likely to be moved aside from international rugby next year to make way for emerging tighthead props such as Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch and Thomas du Toit.
Bismarck, 31, might still be part of the Springbok set-up for a few years to come. In 2007 in France, the brothers’ first World Cup appearance, neither were in the initial 30-man Springbok squad. But when No 8 Pierre Spies pulled out
You realise you are in such a privileged position when you are picked for your third World Cup
weeks before the tourney, White called in Bismarck.
Jannie’s call-up came during the tournament after BJ Botha was injured in Montpellier against the USA. By the time of the final, both Du Plessis’s were in the match-day squad.
Bismarck made an important cameo off the bench when captain John Smit went to the blood bin late in the game. This year there was some speculation that Jannie would not make it, given his mediocre Super Rugby form. But as ever, the likeable doctor responded with two brilliant performances in the Rugby Championship.
“Making this squad is surreal,” Jannie said. “You realise you are in such a privileged position when you are picked for your third World Cup.
“It’s not like I tried less hard in Super Rugby, but things just didn’t go my way. Super Rugby is unforgiving. Some of the criticism hurt people that I care about and it starts to have an effect on you.
“You start doubting yourself but when the test season started, [Springbok] coach Heyneke [Meyer] built up my confidence. And here we are.”