Cape Town — “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 on Friday afternoon ahead of Saturday’s massive United Rugby Championship showdown between the Pretoria side and the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium (2pm kickoff).
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 punching Western Province lock Ben-Jason Dixon during Wednesday night’s Currie Cup clash at Loftus Versfeld.
But on Friday evening, IOL Sport learnt that Du Plessis has now been found guilty at a late-afternoon disciplinary hearing for striking Dixon, and he has been handed a similar three-week ban to the one he served for a dangerous tackle on Munster No 8 Alex Kendellen recently.
That means he will miss the Stormers clash, where he was picked among the replacements.
Joe van Zyl, who was on the bench against Ulster last weekend, will take Du Plessis’s place.
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When White was asked earlier on Friday afternoon as to whether Du Plessis had been cleared to play against the Stormers on Saturday, the Bulls director of rugby said: “He is in the team, his name is on the sheet. I’m 100 percent 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.
“Isn’t it wonderful that a North-South Derby has got such spice in it again? 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!
“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.
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“Can he train, can’t he train? Is Jake going to pick him? Will he be ready for Saturday? Let’s see what happens tomorrow. 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 Saturday’s clash.
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“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.
“Hopefully the Stormers spent the whole week looking on social media for videos, and didn’t focus on their game! But it’s fantastic — two ’o clock kickoff, and it was like when I was a kid. Northern Transvaal versus Western Province at Newlands, two ’o clock in the afternoon. Gerhard Viviers talking on the radio, commentating on the game.
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“In the old days, Chick Henderson talking on SABC. It’s like the old days for me. Wonderful. Little bit of banter, and people talking now about a 79-Test match hooker that supposedly slapped some poor Province guy…
“I didn’t realise you could get cited for slapping! Bongi punched Bismarck a couple of weeks ago — he didn’t even get cited.
“So, it’s wonderful. I can’t wait… I can’t wait for tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got a massive game — they beat us there and they’ve got a full-strength team. I read about this: all the injury guys are back. Most experienced coaching staff in terms of time with their team, 10-11 years. So gee, a great game for us to be part of that.”
IOL Sport