Christo John du Plessis (born 2 June 1989 in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, South Africa) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who most recently played the . His regular position is flanker or number eight.

Career

Youth and amateur rugby

As a scholar playing rugby for George High School, Du Plessis was selected for the side that played at the 2007 Under-18

Craven Week The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven. The tou ...

tournament. In 2008, he moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to join the Harmony Sports Academy. He also represented the side in the 2008 Under-19 Provincial Championship, (which was the South African junior competition won by any Griffons side) and he was named their Forward of the Year. He returned to

in 2009 where he was named in the side that played in the 2009 Under-21 Provincial Championship. He also played some club rugby for Blanco between 2010 and 2012.

SWD Eagles

His introduction to first class rugby came during the

2010 Vodacom Cup The 2010 Vodacom Cup was contested from 26 February to 7 May. The 2010 Vodacom Cup is the 13th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Prem ...

competition when he was one of a number of club players that were included in the SWD Eagles squad for the competition. He was an unused reserve in their match against the , but then played off the bench in their match against the in

Saldanha Saldanha may refer to: Places South Africa * Saldanha Bay, a bay in Western Cape * Saldanha, Western Cape, a town on the bay * Saldanha Bay Local Municipality, the unit of government that administers the Saldanha Bay region Other countries * Sal ...

to make his debut. His second appearance came against the , which also saw Du Plessis score his first senior try in a 39–30 victory in

Beaufort West Beaufort West (Afrikaans: ''Beaufort-Wes''; Xhosa: ''eBhofolo'') is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the Beauf ...

. He also made his

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

debut later in 2010, during the

2010 Currie Cup First Division The 2010 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 16 July through to 15 October 2010. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union ...

competition, playing off the bench in their match against the .

Blanco / Evergreens

However, he then fell out of the provincial set-up and reverted to playing amateur rugby for local club side Blanco in 2011 and 2012, also captaining the side as they qualified for the National Club Championships in 2012. He made a single appearance for the SWD Eagles in the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, ...

, playing the last 20 minutes of their match against . He joined

Pacaltsdorp Pacaltsdorp is a suburb of George, Western Cape. In the Apartheid era, it was the coloured township associated with George but administrated independently. The N2 highway provided the natural boundary between the two, enforced by a curfew. The mis ...

-based club side Evergreens in 2013 and made two appearances for them in the 2013 SARU Community Cup competition, also scoring a try in their match against White River from

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

SWD Eagles (2013–)

His club form saw him earn a contract with the and he made six appearances in the

2013 Vodacom Cup The 2013 Vodacom Cup was played between 9 March and 18 May 2013 and was the 16th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First ...

competition, scoring one try. He established himself as a first-choice player, starting ten matches for the Eagles during the

2013 Currie Cup First Division The 2013 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 29 June to 11 October 2013. The tournament (also known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competiti ...

competition and playing off the bench twice. He also contributed three tries during the campaign as his side reached the semi-final stage of the competition before being eliminated 52–33 by eventual champions the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Plessis, Christo South African rugby union players Living people 1989 births Rugby union players from George, South Africa Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights SWD Eagles players