Dan du Plessis

Daniël Michael du Plessis (born 17 March 1995 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player for the Stormers in Super Rugby.[1] His regular position is centre.

Not to be confused with Dan du Plessis, a rugby union hooker born 1995 also playing for Western Province.

Dan du Plessis
Full nameDaniël Michael du Plessis
Date of birth (1995-03-17) 17 March 1995
Place of birthPort Elizabeth, South Africa
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Weight97 kg (15 st 4 lb; 214 lb)
SchoolPaul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch
Notable relative(s)Michael du Plessis (father)
Carel du Plessis (uncle)
Willie du Plessis (uncle)
Jean-Luc du Plessis (cousin)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Current team Stormers
Youth career
2013–2016 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–present Western Province 20 (50)
2016–present Stormers 15 (15)
Correct as of 7 July 2019
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013 South Africa Schools 2 (0)
2015 South Africa Under-20 5 (5)
Correct as of 18 April 2018

Career

Youth

Du Plessis' first provincial selection came in 2013, when he was selected to represent Western Province at the Under-18 Craven Week tournament held in Polokwane. He started in their first match against the Pumas and ran in four tries in a 40–24 victory.[2] He also played against the Blue Bulls[3] and in the unofficial final against the Golden Lions, where he scored another try to secure victory for Western Province.[4]

At the conclusion of the tournament, he was also named in a South African Schools squad and he represented them in matches against England[5] and France.[6]

He played for the Western Province U19 side in the 2014 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring two tries in five matches to help his team all the way to the final, where they beat the Blue Bulls U19s 33–26.[7]

In 2015, he was named in the Western Province squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup, but failed to make any appearances. Instead he linked up with the South Africa Under-20 squad. He was initially named in a 37-man training squad[8] and also started for them in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team, scoring a try in a 31–24 victory in a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team at the conclusion of the 2015 Varsity Cup competition.[9] He was then named in their squad to tour Argentina for a two-match series as preparation for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[10] He started both their 25–22 victory over Argentina in the first match,[11] and their 39–28 win in the second match four days later.[12]

Upon the team's return, he was named in the final squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[13] He started all three of their matches in Pool B of the competition; a 33–5 win against hosts Italy,[14] a 40–8 win against Samoa[15] and a 46–13 win over Australia.[16] He helped South Africa finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. Du Plessis also started their semi-final match against England and scored a try in the final minutes of the match, which wasn't enough to prevent them losing the match 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition by England for the second year in succession.[17] He started their third-place play-off match against France, helping South Africa to a 31–18 win to win the bronze medal.[18]

Personal

Du Plessis is the son of former Springbok player Michael du Plessis and the nephew of former Springbok players Carel du Plessis and Willie du Plessis.[19]

He is the cousin of Jean-Luc du Plessis, who is also a professional rugby player.

References
  1. "SA Rugby Player Profile – Daniël du Plessis". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province 40-24 Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 6-30 Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province 45-29 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19-14 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17-13 France". South African Rugby Union. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Western Province U19 33-26 Blue Bulls U19". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. "SARU names large group for Junior Bok trials". South African Rugby Union. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  9. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Varsity Cup XV 24-31 South Africa U/20". South African Rugby Union. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  10. "SARU names Junior Bok squad for Argentine tour". South African Rugby Union. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  11. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 25 a 22". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. "Los Pumitas cayeron ante Baby Boks por 39 a 28". Unión Argentina de Rugby (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  13. "Liebenberg to lead Junior Boks at U20 World Championship in Italy". South African Rugby Union. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  14. "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5-33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  15. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40-8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  16. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46-13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  17. "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20-28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  18. "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18-31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  19. "Du Plessis shines as WP crowned Craven Week champions". SABC. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
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