Jean-Luc du Plessis

Jean-Luc du Plessis

Personal information
Born	7 May 1994 Cape Town, South Africa
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	87 kg (13 st 10 lb)
School(s) attended	Paarl Boys' High School, Paarl
University	Varsity College
Relatives	Carel du Plessis (father) Michael du Plessis (uncle) Willie du Plessis (uncle) Daniël du Plessis (cousin)
Club information
Playing position	Fly-half, Fullback
Current club	Western Province / Stormers
Youth career
2007–12	Western Province
2013–14	Sharks
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Pts)^†
2014	Sharks (Currie Cup)	2	(13)
2015–	Western Province	9	(69)
2016–	Stormers	6	(76)
Representative team(s)^‡
2014–	S.A. Under-20	2	(2)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 30 April 2016. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 6 June 2014.

Jean-Luc du Plessis (born 7 May 1994 in Cape Town) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with Western Province and the Stormers.^[1] His regular position is fly-half.

Career

Youth

He represented Western Province at youth level, represented them at the 2007 Under-13 Craven Week competition and at the 2012 Under-18 Craven Week competition. However, at the end of 2012, despite being offered a spot in the Western Province Rugby Institute and receiving a contract with Western Province, he moved to Durban instead to join the Sharks Academy.^[2][3]

Du Plessis was the third-highest scorer in the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship Division A competition for the Sharks U19,^[4] scoring 116 points in eleven starts.

In April 2014, Du Plessis was named in the S.A. Under-20 squad for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship.^[5]

Sharks

Du Plessis' first class debut came for the Sharks XV during the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition. He came on as a substitute in their 40–3 victory over Kenyan side Simba XV at City Park Stadium, Crawford. Within five minutes of coming on, Du Plessis scored a try and kicked the subsequent conversion.^[6] His first start came in the following match, a 27–11 defeat to the Eastern Province Kings in Durban, with Du Plessis scoring two penalties.^[7]

Western Province

He returned to Cape Town in 2015, joining Western Province for the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition.

Personal

Du Plessis is the son of former Springbok player and head coach, Carel du Plessis. Two of his uncles, Michael du Plessis and Willie du Plessis, are also former Springboks. His cousin Daniël du Plessis also is also a rugby player that represented the South Africa Under-20 team in 2015.

References

1. "SARU Player Profile Jean-Luc du Plessis". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
2. "Sharks contract 8 Junior Rugby Stars". Youth Sports Network. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
3. "WP sign young flyhalves". Sport24. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
4. "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2013 Absa Under 19 Competition". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
5. "Junior Springboks named for JWC 2014". South African Rugby Union. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
6. "Match Breakdown: Tusker Simba XV vs Cell C Sharks XV". South African Rugby Union. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
7. "Match Breakdown: Cell C Sharks XV vs Eastern Province Kings". South African Rugby Union. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.