Who knows, something out of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGH) might overshadow Bismarck du Plessis’ massive hit on Dan Carter in 2013 as a talking point. Maybe, but I doubt it.
Du Plessis, now a farmer in the Free State, says that all the colourful incidents in the 105-year-old Springboks-All Blacks rivalry make it what it is.
“There are lots of memories from All Blacks tours; 1996 was an epic series for me growing up,” the 42-year-old said. “And if I contributed something to the folklore, that is nice. And I am glad I tackled him because I respected him a lot.”
The format of the RGH is four Test matches. It is a long series, but it opens up the possibility of it being drawn 2-2.
“That is the worst possible way for a series to end,” Du Plessis said. “I never played in such a long series and would have loved the opportunity. It brings hype, it brings a lot of interest. I would love to see something along the lines of the Lions tours in terms of public support.
“If we can show them our beautiful and diverse country with our beaches, mountains, the bush… Our diversity makes me very proud. We support Bafana, the Boks, the Proteas, all of our national teams.”
Du Plessis was asked to give his verdict on the Springbok hooker pecking order beyond World Player of the Year Malcolm Marx. The wily former hooker ducked the question.
“I am not a selector, and I hated armchair coaches when I was playing, with people telling us what we were supposed to do when they hadn’t played the game,” he said.
“To be honest, the main thing is the Boks are playing well and winning,” he explained. “What I can talk about is how cool it is that we can make ten changes to the team and still shift gear. I don’t care about pecking orders; what’s more important is that whoever plays, there is that tenacity and ferocity.”
Du Plessis is confident that Rassie Erasmus’ team has at least one more gear to flatten the world in Australia next year.
“It would be awesome to have three World Cups in a row. Having won four is brilliant, but to win three in a row would be the ultimate cherry on top of the cake.”
