Petrus du Plessis of Saracens in action during the Aviva Premiership match between Saracens and Northampton at Allianz Park in Barnet, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Rugby news: Wallabies keen on South African scrum guru
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie wants to reunite with Glasgow Warriors associate Petrus du Plessis with a view to improving Australian scrumming.
Petrus du Plessis of Saracens in action during the Aviva Premiership match between Saracens and Northampton at Allianz Park in Barnet, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie is eager to recruit South African scrumming coach Petrus du Plessis.
Du Plessis worked with Rennie at Pro14 outfit Glasgow Warriors both as a player and then taking on the scrum coach role after hanging up his boots.
Wallabies keen on South African scrum guru
Born in Hermanus in 1981, Du Plessis never played professional rugby in South Africa but progressed through the ranks of club rugby in England.
He is also a qualified physiotherapist graduating from the University of Salford in 2008 while he was playing with fourth-tier Sedgley Tigers.
Rennie wants Du Plessis to not only work withe the Wallabies but also to consult with Super Rugby franchises on how to improve their scrum.
“I’ve worked with Petrus, he’s of South African extract, played a lot of rugby for Saracens, a little bit with London Irish, did a bit of coaching there and, for the last couple of years, has coached up at Glasgow for a couple of years,” Rennie told reporters on Friday 7 August.
“He’s excellent, outstanding. He’s a qualified physio, he’s really innovative and he’s such a good man, just really passionate about scrums. So often he’d be training with us and rattle off to do a coaching thing in Aberdeen a couple of hours away driving in the snow.
“His role, if we could get it across the line, is more than just the Wallabies. It’s getting around the country and working with all the sides. He’d be a great get if we could get it over the line.
“We’ve been fighting for a long time. It’s a difficult time, but hopefully we can get that over the line soon. I can’t say much more than that.”
Getting the band together
Rennie looks to be putting together a veritable super group of coaches making no bones about his desire to bring Brumbies coach Dan McKellar into the Wallabies backroom staff.
“It’s a bit like Petrus’s story really,” Rennie said. “We’re working through that process, but I think everyone’s aware of my feelings around Dan; an excellent coach, top man, would be a great addition to our group.
“You look how dominant they’ve [Brumbies] been in their line-out drive and it’s been over the last few years. Ruaidhri [Murphy] probably takes responsibility for that now but Dan’s had a big part in it, so he’d be a great addition to our group.”
