Jannie du Plessis, the rock solid anchor at tighthead. Learn about his life and career with Rugby365, your resident rugby gurus.
Jannie du Plessis Biography
Jannie du Plessis was born in Bethlemen on 16 November 1982. He matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein before enrolling at the University of the Free State to pursue his medical studies.
Jannie du Plessis is not your average professional rugby player. In an era when boys are signed by provincial unions straight from school, he is a qualified doctor who also has a share in the family farm in Bethlehem.
He captained the Griffons’ Craven Week side in 1995 and went on to play for the Free State representative teams at junior level. Jannie du Plessis finally signed a contract with the Cheetahs in 2003 and thus started a long and illustrious career together with his brother Bismarck.
The Du Plessis brothers were always very open about their strong relationship and bond during their rugby career and even made their Springbok debuts together in the same game.
Jannie du Plessis made his Super Rugby debut in 2006 for the Cheetahs but in 2007 his campaign was hampered by an ankle injury. After recovering, he was selected for the Springbok squad for the first time during the 2007 Tri-Nations (now The Rugby Championship), making his debut in the starting XV against Australia. This was significant for him as it was also Bismarck's debut. This made the Du Plessis brothers the 23rd set of brothers to earn Springbok caps.
Neither Jannie nor Bismarck were named in the original Springbok squad for the 2007 World Cup, but both eventually joined the squad, Bismarck coming in for the injured Pierre Spies and Jannie du Plessis, replacing BJ Botha.
A week after the Boks' victory over England in the RWC Final, Jannie du Plessis was in the Cheetahs squad for the Currie Cup Final which saw them defeat the Lions.
Jannie du Plessis, a first-class tighthead, was also no stranger to the odd on-field confrontation. He joined his brother at the Sharks in 2008 and the pair, together with Tendai Mtawarira, were one of the most feared front rows in world rugby.
Legendary performances for the Sharks made sure Jannie du Plessis made two more World Cup squads, in 2011 and 2015.
As his career was winding down at Montpellier and having been at the famous French club since 2015, Jannie du Plessis had extended his stay as a medical joker during the 2019 World Cup. Action had simmered for him but he had enjoyed coaching the club's academy recruits, while realising the sun was setting on his European sojourn. He had started contemplating retirement. Then came the call from Johannesburg and the decision to give it one more final crack.
Jannie du Plessis would most likely call a halt somewhere in the course of 2021 having played against almost every loosehead who matters in a career spanning two decades.