You won’t outscrum us warns Du Plessis
NEALE HARVEY finds London Irish’s veteran prop star in defiant mood ahead of the new season
Indestructible prop Petrus du Plessis reckons anyone writing off London Irish’s Premiership survival chances should think again as he looks to add his considerable title and Champions Cup-winning nous to the Exiles’ front row operation.
Du Plessis could have remained at Saracens, where he won three league titles and two Champions Cups during a glorious eight-season spell, after previously serving in the lower leagues with Liverpool St Helens, Orrell, Sedgley Park and Nottingham.
However, the 36-year-old tighthead, viewed as one of the top-flight’s finest scrummagers, was determined not to fade into the twilight and will instead team up with Kiwi World Cup-winner Ben Franks as formidable anchors in the Irish front row. Du Plessis told The Rugby
Paper: “I could have stayed at Saracens but the club has to start bringing the youngsters through and I didn’t want to be in a situation where I have to sit out a lot of the season and just play seven or eight games.
“I don’t want to have a year like Kelly Brown and Neil de Kock did, where they didn’t play very much and found it really frustrating at the end, so that’s why I’m relishing the challenge at Irish because I feel I’ve still got plenty left in my tank.
“That’s a conversation I had with (technical director) Brendan Venter and I’m looking to make a real impact here, both in helping the club re-establish itself in the Premiership and also imparting the knowledge I have to our younger guys.
“I may be 36, but playing in the lower leagues early on helped me, as did the rotation system at Saracens. We’ll have a similar rotation system with Ben Franks and the other props here, so I’ll look to enjoy my rugby and do a good job.”
Irish’s pack performed impressively against Harlequins last weekend.
Du Plessis added: “People keep asking me whether we’re going to be fighting a relegation battle and obviously many people will be thinking that, but we are going to be smart and we’ll have a structure in which we know we’ll be competitive.
“People who think they’re going to scrum Irish into next month should think again. We’ve got good front row competitors, including myself, Ben and Gordon Reid, and we’re hoping our scrum will provide a platform to make us a better team.
“We’re not saying we’ve got the best scrum or will be in a Premiership final, but we showed we could compete against Harlequins last weekend and we believe we’ve got a bunch of players who will graft for each other and do well.”
Looking back at the huge success he enjoyed at Saracens, Du Plessis said: “March 2010 was my debut for Saracens. I remember playing for Nottingham against Exeter in the play-offs
“We believe we’ve got a bunch of players who will graft for each other and do well”
on a Sunday and then getting a call from Brendan Venter that they’d struck a deal and that from 7am on the Monday morning I was a Saracens player.
“Two months later I was playing in a Premiership final against Leicester, which we lost, but since then it’s been a really good journey with a lot of highs and lows, but mainly highs as we managed to achieve success at home and abroad.
“I was lucky to win three Premierships