Charl Du Plessis (rugby Union)
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Charl Francois 'KP' du Plessis (born 8 April 1987) is a former South African professional
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player that played domestically for the , , and the and also played
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
with the , making a total of 81 first class appearances between 2008 and 2014. His regular position was prop.


Career


Youth

Du Plessis went to Hoërskool Monument in
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, where his performances for his school earned him a selection to the team that participated at the 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 ...
competition held in
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in 2005. He was also selected in a South Africa Schools 'B' team in the same year.


Golden Lions / UJ / Falcons

He joined the Academy after high school and played for the during the 2006 Under-19 Provincial Championship before making the step up to the team for the 2007 Under-21 Provincial Championship. In 2008, he was named in university side 's squad for the
2008 Varsity Cup The 2008 Varsity Cup was contested from 18 February to 7 April 2008. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the first season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-uni ...
, the inaugural edition of the premier university rugby union competition in South Africa. He made two appearances for UJ in the competition before switching to the squad for the
2008 Vodacom Cup The 2008 Vodacom Cup was played between 22 February and 16 May 2008 and was the 11th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between the fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa f ...
. He made his first class debut in their match against , coming on for the final few minutes of a 20–6 victory. That was his only involvement in the competition, but he did appear in two more Varsity Cup matches for UJ. In the second half of 2008, he once again played for the s in the Under-21 Provincial Championship. In the 2009 Varsity Cup, he made a single appearance for UJ before again being involved in the Golden Lions' 2009 Vodacom Cup campaign. He started a first class match for the first time in Round Five of the competition, suffering a 21–26 defeat to eventual champions in
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, before making a further three starts, including the quarter-final match, where the Golden Lions were eliminated by losing 7–20 to in
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
. He joined the Golden Lions' near neighbours, Kempton Park-based side on loan for the duration of the 2009 Currie Cup First Division. He made his debut in the
Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
for the Falcons in their match against the in Kempton Park, finishing on the wrong end of a 39–27 scoreline. Du Plessis featured in eight matches – starting seven of those – in a season to forget for the Falcons, as they lost all ten of their matches in the competition. He was the undoubted first-choice loosehead prop for during the
2010 Varsity Cup The 2010 Varsity Cup was contested from 1 February to 29 March 2010. The tournament (also known as the ''FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International'' for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-uni ...
competition, starting all seven of their matches as UJ finished in fifth position, missing out on a play-off spot. As in the previous two years, he then played for the in 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 The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vod ...
competition, appearing in two matches. This brought his total number of appearances for the Golden Lions in three seasons of
Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...
rugby to seven, although he never appeared at Currie Cup level for them.


Boland Cavaliers

In 2010, he moved to
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to join the . He made his Boland debut in 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 un ...
against the team he represented in the competition in 2009, the . He came on just after half time and helped his new side to a 53–10 victory. He made a total of eight appearances in the competition, starting two of those, as they reached the semi-finals of the competition, where they narrowly lost to the , going down 25–26 in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
. He made seven appearances for Boland during the
2011 Vodacom Cup The 2011 Vodacom Cup was contested from 25 February to 13 May 2011. The tournament was the 14th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South ...
competition, offering the side versatility by being able to play as a loosehead or a tighthead prop. Du Plessis featured in nine of the Boland Cavaliers' ten matches during the regular season of the
2011 Currie Cup First Division The 2011 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 15 July to 14 October 2011. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the second tier of the 73rd season of the Currie Cup, an annual rugby un ...
, with Boland winning nine of those matches to finish top of the log. He played off the bench in the semi-final, where a 50–20 victory over
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-based side saw them advance to the final, as well as the final itself, with Boland avenging their 2010 final defeat by running out 43–12 winners over the in Wellington to be crowned First Division champions. However, the
South African Rugby Union The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
announced that the Premier Division would be reduced from eight teams to six for
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, meaning that promotion wasn't a possibility for the Cavaliers. Du Plessis started four matches for the Boland Cavaliers during 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 Division ...
, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals, finishing behind
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side on points difference only.


Eastern Province Kings

He then moved to the team he faced in two consecutive First Division finals,
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
-based , for the
2012 Currie Cup First Division The 2012 Currie Cup First Division was contested from 30 June to 13 October 2012. 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 comp ...
season. He made his EP Kings debut in Round Four of the competition in a 56–5 victory over the . He made a total of ten appearances, starting just one of those, a 45–24 win against the . The EP Kings topped the log after the regular season and went on to win the competition by beating the 26–25 in the final. This meant that Du Plessis won his second consecutive First Division title, despite missing the play-off matches through injury.
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
came to Port Elizabeth for the first time for the
2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbi ...
and Du Plessis was named in the wider training squad for the competition, but subsequently released to the Vodacom Cup squad. He made eight appearances for the EP Kings during 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 Fi ...
, helping them reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history. He started the quarter-final, where an extraordinary comeback saw them beat the 34–31 in
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, as well as the final, when they lost 13–39 to the in
Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...
. Following an injury to first choice tighthead prop Kevin Buys prior the Kings' penultimate regular season Super Rugby match against the , he was included on the bench and came on as a 72-minute substitute to make his
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
debut. He made his first Super Rugby start the following week against the in
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
and also played in the second leg of their
relegation play-off Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
series against the , with a 23–18 victory in
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not enough to secure the Kings' Super Rugby status. He started eight matches in 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 compe ...
to help the EP Kings reach their fourth consecutive final, this time losing 30–53 to the in
Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...
. However, a decision by the
South African Rugby Union The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
to increase the number of teams in the Premier Division in 2014 from six to eight, saw both teams promoted. In 2014, he didn't feature in any matches during the
2014 Vodacom Cup The 2014 Vodacom Cup was played between 7 March and 16 May 2014 and was the 17th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. This edition of the Vodacom Cup was played between fourteen provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from th ...
, but he was selected in the starting line-up for the side that faced during a tour match during their 2014 incoming tour. He was stretchered off with a neck injury shortly before half-time as the Kings suffered a 12–34 defeat. He recovered in time to play in his first ever match in the Premier Division of the
Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...
, playing off the bench against the . He also made substitute appearances against and their only win of the season, a 26–25 defeat of the in Port Elizabeth.


Retirement

He announced his retirement from rugby in March 2015, aged 27. He suffered from persistent back problems and decided to retire following medical advice to take up a role as the manager of a game reserve in
Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Plessis, Charl Alumni of Hoërskool Monument South African rugby union players Boland Cavaliers players Eastern Province Elephants players Southern Kings players 21st-century South African sportsmen Falcons (rugby union) players Golden Lions players Living people Rugby union players from Cape Town 1987 births Rugby union props