Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Bismarck banter a whole lot of slap and tackle
“ISN’T it wonderful that the reserve hooker that’s going to sit on my bench is getting more airtime and discussion time in a pre-game interview than the big game itself? I can’t tell you enough times, it’s fantastic. It’s wonderful!”
That was how Bulls coach Jake White felt about the controversy surrounding veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis ahead of today’s massive United Rugby Championship showdown between the Pretoria side and the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium (2pm kick-off).
White, true to form, added extra fuel to the Du Plessis fire by including the former Springbok No 2 on the bench for the URC game, despite him being accused of foul play by Western Province during Wednesday’s Currie Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld.
WP captain Nama Xaba stated that Du Plessis had struck lock Ben-Jason Dixon on the ground just seconds before David Kriel scored a try in the 49th minute of the Bulls’ 45-34 victory.
Xaba appealed to the match officials immediately, and after numerous television replays, TMO Marius van der Westhuizen told on-field referee Griffin Colby that there wasn’t a suitable camera angle to view the incident.
But when the passage of play is viewed from a reverse angle behind the posts, Du Plessis can be seen tangling with Dixon, and then appearing to hit him with an open-hand slap.
When White was asked yesterday as to whether Du Plessis had been cleared to play against the Stormers, the Bulls director of rugby said: “He is in the team, his name is on the sheet. I’m 100% sure (that he won’t be suspended again). I read an article where one of the players says he thinks Bismarck slapped him (Dixon), so I don’t think a player is going to get cited if he thinks Bismarck slapped him.
“You can’t take anything for granted, but there’s a massive amount of publicity for a guy who’s … it’s all these shenanigans. Is he getting cited? I actually read an article where it says that Western Province want to cite Bismarck for a slap! It’s wonderful, wonderful that there is a bit of theatre behind the scenes.
“Will he be ready for Saturday? Let’s see what happens today. He’s going to run out and play, and I see the same guy who he supposedly slapped is on the (Stormers) bench – so who knows, maybe they’ll get to meet each other again tomorrow afternoon, which will make it even more intriguing.”
White then stated that Du Plessis had been punched by Sharks hooker Bongi Mbonambi in a URC encounter on February 12 at Loftus Versfeld, and that the latter had escaped sanction.
But the former Bok coach expressed his excitement about the high stakes associated with today’s clash.
“I read in the paper that they’ve got a full-blooded team. Everyone’s back from injury. I think Dobbo (Stormers coach John Dobson) has been at the union for 12 years now. He’s got his whole coaching staff that is the most experienced coaching staff in the tournament,” White said.
“They are playing a home game. They beat us in Pretoria, so I mean gee, wonderful – it’s what games are made of, and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
“In the old days, Chick Henderson talking on SABC. It’s like the old days for me. Little bit of banter, and people talking now about a 79-Test match hooker that supposedly slapped some poor Province guy.”