Dan du Plessis: The Stormers unsung hero of the season

Stormers centre Dan du Plessis does get praise but it should be more and more often such has been his form throughout the campaign.

If anyone deserved to be on the winning team in the URC Grand Final it was Dan du Plessis.

The Stormers have stars a plenty with a Springbok front row, the resurgent Deon Fourie and the ever physical beast that is Evan Roos. This season has been a standout for Hacjivah Dayimani. And that’s just the forwards.

Du Plessis allows others to thrive

Think about Damian Willemse and Manie Libbok and you can see why the praise is sometimes not quite what it should be for Du Plessis.

Du Plessis has arguably been the most consistent player in the team this season and tasked with some serious tough jobs. He doesn’t shirk his defensive duties but it’s on attack where he shown that he is a prized asset for John Dobson’s team.

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Du Plessis often takes the heavy contact to step phase play and he always straights the line in the process. This helps the team spread the ball wide when need be and allows the likes of Willemse and Libbok to thrive and make the Hollywood play for a Stormers try.

We saw it time and time again this season. And with the season now done, it’s time to say “Thanks Dan, you were great”.

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Du Plessis recently told IOL about his good teamwork with Ruhan Nel, saying that, “I get a lot of confidence from him and hopefully he gets from me as well.

“His personality on the field gives the other guys in the backline confidence, especially on defence with the way he goes for reads and the way he communicates. It helps me a lot.

Stormers feed off his energy

“Our structure allows for freedom. It is difficult to explain, but we (the backline players) go hand-in-hand. The structure allows for guys to fill in at any position when needed.”

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URC Elite XV: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), 14 Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), 13 Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors), 12 Daniel du Plessis (Stormers), 11 Simone Gesi (Zebre), 10 Ross Byrne (Leinster), 9 Grant Williams (Sharks); 8 Gavin Coombes (Munster), 7 Scott Penny (Leinster), 6 Vaea Fifita (Scarlets), 5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton), 4 Niall Murray (Connacht), 3 Finlay Bealham (Connacht), 2 Dan Sheehan (Leinster), 1 Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers)

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