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Muller du Plessis

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Muller du Plessis
Full nameHillegard Muller du Plessis
Date of birth (1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 25)
Place of birthBethlehem
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb; 13 st 5 lb)
SchoolPaarl Gimnasium
Notable relative(s)JP du Plessis
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Current team Sharks
Youth career
2011 Griffons
2012–2017 Western Province
2018–2019 Sharks
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022– Sharks (Currie Cup) 0 (0)
2022– Sharks 0 (0)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2017 South Africa Schools 6 (20)
2018–2022 South Africa Sevens 102 (320)
2018 South Africa Under-20 1 (5)
Correct as of 12 July 2024

Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  South Africa
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Team competition

Hillegard Muller du Plessis (born 25 June 1999) is a South African rugby union player for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and the Currie Cup. He is a former rugby sevens player for the South Africa national rugby sevens team. He represented them in more than 100 matches and won two World Rugby Sevens Series titles, as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal.[1][2]

Early life and schoolboy rugby

Du Plessis was born in Bethlehem in South Africa's Free State province as the son of Charl and Anneline du Plessis.[citation needed] He initially attended primary school in Reitz, where he represented local provincial union the Griffons at Under-12 level, before moving to Paarl and enrolling at the Paarl Gimnasium Primary School. In 2012, Du Plessis represented Western Province at the Under-13 Craven Week tournament held in Bloemfontein,[3] appearing in four matches at inside centre and scoring a try in their opening match against the Pumas.[4]

At high school level, Du Plessis attended and played rugby for Paarl Gimnasium. He was included in the Western Province squad for the 2015 Under-16 Grant Khomo Week, only to withdraw through injury. In the same year, he was selected in the South African Rugby Union's High Performance program.[5]

In 2016, he was named in Western Province's squad for the Under-18 Craven Week tournament held in Durban.[6] He started all three matches, scoring two tries in their second match against the Sharks,[7] and helping them to a 27–20 victory over the Golden Lions in the main match[8] to be crowned unofficial champions.[9] At the conclusion of the tournament, Du Plessis was included in the South Africa Schools squad for the Under-19 International Series,[10] helping the team to victories over Wales,[11] France — scoring two tries in a 42–3 win[12] — and England.[13]

Du Plessis captained Paarl Gimnasium's first team during 2017,[5] and was again included in the Craven Week side for the tournament in Johannesburg.[14] He started all three matches at the tournament, scoring tries in matches against the Pumas[15] and the Free State Cheetahs.[16] He received a second call-up to the South Africa Schools squad for the 2017 edition of the Under-19 International Series,[17] but could not prevent the team suffering defeats to Wales,[18] France[19] and England, with Du Plessis scoring two tries in the final match in a 22–52 defeat.[20]

Rugby career

After finishing school, Du Plessis signed a contract to join the Durban-based Sharks team, and also linked up with the South African Sevens Academy in Stellenbosch.[5] He was included the academy squad that competed at two events in the 2018 Sudamérica Rugby Sevens,[21] helping them to win both the Punta Del Este Sevens in Uruguay and the Viña del Mar Sevens in Chile.

Shortly after returning to South Africa, Du Plessis was called up by the senior squad to travel to the 2018 Hamilton Sevens as their reserve player,[22] but a pulled hamstring resulted in Du Plessis being a late withdrawal from the team.[23] This setback proved to be minor, as he was included in their next squad for the 2018 USA Sevens,[24][25] where he duly made his debut. He also appeared at the events in Canada (where he scored his first try in the series),[26] Hong Kong (where he scored 7 tries for the team)[27] and Singapore,[28] in a season that saw South Africa go on to win the series by pipping Fiji to the title.[29]

Du Plessis returned to the fifteen-man version of the sport when he was called up to the South Africa Under-20 squad for the World Rugby Under 20 Championship held in France.[30] He did not feature in their opening match of the tournament against Georgia, but was named in the starting lineup for their second match against Ireland. He scored a try in the 19th minute of the match to set his team on the way to a 30–17 victory.[31] However, he was replaced at half-time, and a gluteal muscle injury ruled him out of the remainder of the championship.[32]

He returned to domestic action in South Africa for the Sharks in the Under-19 Provincial Championship.[33]

In 2022, He was part of the South African team that won their second Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham.[34][35][36][37]

References

  1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Muller du Plessis". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. ^ "HSBC Sevens World Series : Muller du Plessis". World Rugby. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Squad – WP : 2012 U13 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – WP 36–5 Pumas". South African Rugby Union. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Du Plessis' Blitzboks inclusion indicative of superb selection process". Keo. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  6. ^ "DHL WP schools teams announced" (Press release). Western Province. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province U18 60–5 Sharks U18". South African Rugby Union. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province U18 27–20 Bidvest Golden Lions U18". South African Rugby Union. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  9. ^ "WP show their class at U18 Coca-Cola Youth Weeks". South African Rugby Union. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Moerat and Van der Schyff to lead SA Schools teams". South African Rugby Union. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SA Schools 23–17 Wales U18". South African Rugby Union. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SA Schools 42–3 France U19". South African Rugby Union. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SA Schools 13–12 England U18". South African Rugby Union. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  14. ^ "WP Rugby 2017 DHL WP Youth Week teams announced" (Press release). Western Province. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Coca-Cola Craven Week - Match 4, Day 1". South African Rugby Union. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Coca-Cola Craven Week - Match 29, Log". South African Rugby Union. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  17. ^ "SA Schools team announced for U19 Series". South African Rugby Union. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  18. ^ "U19 International Series - Match 2, Log". South African Rugby Union. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  19. ^ "U19 International Series - Match 2, Log". South African Rugby Union. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  20. ^ "U19 International Series - Match 2, Log". South African Rugby Union. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  21. ^ "SA Rugby Sevens Academy team off to South America". South African Rugby Union. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  22. ^ "Newcomers keen to add to Blitzbok effort" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  23. ^ "Du Preez joins Blitzboks as injuries mount" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  24. ^ "Muller du Plessis handed Blitzboks debut in Las Vegas". IOL Sport. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  25. ^ "Snyman back to lead Blitzboks in North America" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Powell looking for perfect balance in Canada Sevens" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Human to lead Blitzboks to Hong Kong Sevens" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Let's play some sevens, Blitzboks style - Powell" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  29. ^ "SA make history with consecutive World Series titles" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Moerat to lead Junior Boks to U20 World Champs" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  31. ^ "U20 World Rugby Championship - Match 10, Pool Stage". South African Rugby Union. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  32. ^ "Coetzer, Buthelezi to join Junior Boks in France" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  33. ^ "Squad: Cell C Sharks U19". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  34. ^ Mostert, Herman. "Team SA squad named for 2022 Commonwealth Games". news24.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Soyizwapi, Plaatjies to lead SA Sevens teams at Commonwealth Games". sarugby.co.za. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  36. ^ "South Africa stun Fiji to win men's rugby sevens Commonwealth gold". the Guardian. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  37. ^ "Australia and South Africa win rugby sevens gold at Commonwealth Games". www.world.rugby. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
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