Morné du Plessis Biography

Morné du Plessis is a legend of South African rugby. Widely regarded as one of his country's best ever loose forwards, he captained the Springboks for five years.

He packed down at eight for Western Province and was first picked as a Springbok in 1971. In total he played 22 Test matches and was captain, like his father Felix before him, for 15 of those matches, leading the team to 12 wins.

During Morné du Plessis' time as captain, the Springboks had two famous series wins against Andy Leslie's All Blacks in 1976 and Bill Beaumont's British & Irish Lions in 1980. After the Springboks beat France 2-0 in a home series in 1980, he surprised the rugby world by announcing his resignation at the age of 31.

Morné du Plessis was born in Vereeniging on 21 October 1949 and he grew up in Klerksdrop. In 1966, he matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein and completed his national service at the Naval Gymnasium in Saldanha Bay.

The Du Plessis family was deeply steeped in sport and his involvement in rugby resulted from this fact. Felix was a Springbok rugby captain in 1949 and his mother was the captain of the Springbok hockey team in 1953.

Morné du Plessis attended the University of Stellenbosch between 1968 and 1972, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree, majoring in Industrial Psychology.

With the love of rugby running through his veins, he started playing at an early age, making his debut as Springbok eighthman in 1971 in a three-test series away to Australia. The trip proved successful to the South Africans with the team winning the three tests 18-6, 14-6 and 19-11. Du Plessis was elected captain in 1975. He retired from rugby in 1980.

After resisting several offers to coach, Morné du Plessis eventually bowed to public pressure and returned to rugby as manager of the Springboks on the eve of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Always noted for his meticulous preparation and man-management skills, he struck up an effective partnership with South African coach Kitch Christie and the pair were an integral part of their country's unbeaten run through that year's World Cup.

For his contribution to rugby, Morné du Plessis was presented with South Africa’s National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver. In 2015 he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame on the 20th anniversary of the victory.

He was also co-founder with Professor Tim Noakes of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, which strives to improve sporting performance and health of all South Africans through the execution, dissemination and application of science.

A founder member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, Morné du Plessis is Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Trust in South Africa and is Chairman of the Management Committee of the Chris Burger / Petro Jackson Players’ Fund, which was established 40 years ago to provide financial assistance to rugby players who have sustained serious rugby injuries.

Morné du Plessis remains one of South African sport’s favourite sons, highly respected for his role as a sportsperson both on and off the field. 

He is married to Jenny and has three children, Jean Pierre, Luc and Nina.