Du Plessis exits Glasgow for Oz role

GLASGOW WARRIORS scrum coach Petrus du Plessis has left the club to join Australia on a contract which takes him up to the 2023 World Cup.

The 39-year-old former tighthead prop worked under Wallabies boss Dave Rennie at Warriors and impressed hugely in improving their scrum.

Rennie has now handed the South African a three-and-a-half-year deal to become the new scrum coach of Australia.

Du Plessis is currently awaiting clearance to secure a visa, a matter complicated by the fact that he is a South African citizen but holds only a British passport.

However, he has sold his house and will next month move his family to Gold Coast, where he will be based in a role that will see him work across Australia teaching players about the scrum.

Rennie believes Du Plessis’ expertise can bolster a Wallabies scrum in need of reinforcement as they seek to rebuild ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.

The New Zealander said: ‘Petrus is really innovative and is just passionate about scrums.

‘He’d be training with us and run off to a coaching thing in Aberdeen.

‘If we get it across the line, it would be more than just the Wallabies; it would also be getting around the country.’

Du Plessis came to England to study in 2001 and qualified as a physiotherapist before making his name in rugby.

He won three Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups with Saracens and also played for London Irish and most recently as a player-coach with Glasgow.

Du Plessis recently completed a three-month contract at Ayrshire & Arran Hospital where he worked on the front line as a physio in the fight against Covid-19.

Having retired from playing, Du Plessis is relishing his new role in Australia, saying: ‘Glasgow’s scrum was less functional before I came but now they’re in the top five in Europe.

‘I specialise in neck strengthening and trying to reduce concussion.

‘A stronger neck is safer for your brain and for injuries. That’s my unique selling point.’