Morne du Plessis

Morne du Plessis (born 21 October 1949 in Krugersdorp, Transvaal Province, now Gauteng) is a former South African rugby union player. He is often described as one of the Springboks' most successful captains. Playing at number 8, his national career spanned ten years, five of which he was captain. He was also the manager of the 1995 Springboks which won the famous 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He is the co-founder with Tim Noakes of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Cape Town and the co-founder of Bioenergetics of Exercise Research Unit of the University of Cape Town and the Medical Research Council. His father was also a Springbok captain, and to date, they are the only father-son combination to both captain the Springboks.

He made his test debut with the 1971 Springboks touring party that went to Australia to play in a three test series. The series was a great success for the Springboks who won all three tests; 18-6, 14-6 and 19-11. When the Springboks took to the international stage again, in 1974, they faced the British Lions who swept through South Africa, only drawing the one match, winning all the other games. The draw was in their last test, which resulted in a 13-all score. he did not actually play in the drawn game though, playing the first two tests, before being dropped for the third. Though the series was noted for its use of players, with only four men playing in all...
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