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Du Plessis out to settle the score

May 23 2008

The Waratahs are the only team that have given the Sharks a thorough beating this year at the Sydney Football Stadium, but South Africa hooker Bismarck du Plessis is out to settle the score in Saturday's rematch of the one-sided spectacle that took place at the same venue a month ago.

The first choice hooker at the Sharks and currently second in line to the Springbok number two jersey behind captain John Smit, Du Plessis is more than confident he and his team-mates can turn things around against a team that comprehensively beat his side 25-10 in Round Eleven.

"I don't think you can head into a semi-final not feeling confident," Du Plessis said in an exclusive interview with Planet Rugby.

"They may have finished second on the table, but we finished just one point behind in third, so there's nothing much separating us.

"But these are the knock-out stages and points on the table now mean absolutely nothing.

"Yes, the last game they bullied us around the park, but the guys will be up for it this time round."

But the Sharks go into Saturday's Super 14 semi-final showdown as firm underdogs knowing they have lost their previous four encounters to the Waratahs in Sydney.

In fact they have endured a rather torrid time since their last win there in 2000.

"Well, it's a fair statement considering past results that haven't gone our way," said Du Plessis of his team's underdog status.

"Plus they have home advantage and finished in a higher position than us at the end of the round-robin stages

"But we happy to take the underdog role and I can assure you that our bite is bigger than our bark.

"A semi-final is a one-off encounter and if we win, we can put all the previous results behind us.

"But if the Waratahs win, fair play to them and I guess our winning drought in Sydney will just continue. But anything can happen!"

The shadows are lengthening over this year's Super 14 competition but the Sharks go-to man believes physical and mental exhaustion cannot be used as excuses for poor performances at this stage of the tournament.

The mere opportunity to be playing in a semi-final should be sufficient to push the players to the limit, says Du Plessis.

"There's no room for excuses in a semi-final," he said.

"We knew it would be a tough trip, but we're here now and ready to get on with things.

"The jet lag can be a bit of a nuisance, however it shouldn't come into play come kick-off on Saturday."

With the Waratahs boasting an unbeaten run at home this season - Du Plessis believes if anyone can rain on the hosts' parade, it is the Sharks.

"Well, considering that we were also unbeaten at home in the Shark Tank (Absa Stadium), we know what it takes to defend a home record," said Du Plessis.

"It almost becomes an obsession to win all your games when you're on a roll, especially at home, but the lads are confident we can bring their run to an end.

"We've been in this situation before and if we can just stick to our game-plan and not crumble under pressure like we did last time out, we are in with a good shout."

When the Sharks were in Sydney last month, it was the fourth week on tour - always the most difficult - and it was a week after the nightmare second half fall-off against the Brumbies. Confidence and morale was at a low ebb.

Since then the Sharks have turned their season around. They have the confidence they lacked and they now have the missing energy to last the full eighty minutes.

They are starting to play to their full potential again that took them into last year's final, and if they play to their strengths again on Saturday, they are definitely good enough to beat the Waratahs.

"You don't win the Super 14 in February, March or April," said Du Plessis.

"You win the Super 14 in May and everyone saw this in the competition last year with the Bulls peaking at the right time.

"We knew what we were capable of at the beginning of the season and we know what we're capable of at the end of the competition too."

Aside from the fact that the Sharks will be out to secure their second consecutive Super 14 Final, successful coach Dick Muir's reign with the Durban-based side could come to an abrupt end if his side fail to do the business against the Waratahs.

Muir will assume his new position as the Springbok backline coach on conclusion of the Super 14 and it is evident that the players would like to reward him for his efforts at the province during the past few years with a winner's medal.

"Of course, but Dick will always be with us," said a disappointed Du Plessis about his departing coach.

"Even though he may not be coaching the Sharks, he will always be in our hearts.

"All of us - Dick included - are under enough pressure heading into the semis, so to think that it could be his last game in charge will only add more fuel to the emotions in the squad."

With World Cup-winning skipper Smit returning home from a short stint with French club Clermont in the Top 14 to lead South Africa in a two-Test series against Wales, and Stormers hooker Schalk Brits hitting top form once again - the pressure must surely be on for Du Plessis to crack the nod from new Bok coach Peter de Villiers.

On a request from Muir, De Villiers refrained from naming any Sharks players in his first Springbok training squad announced last week until after this weekend's semi-final had been played.

But Du Plessis has focused all his attention towards one goal, and it isn't about making De Villiers' squad.

"We have been avoiding the papers and, personally, I don't even know who has made the training squad back home," said Du Plessis.

"For now, the Springboks come second. The players are focused on the semi-finals and then hopefully winning the Super 14. Nothing else."

Du Plessis' ability to run faster, drive harder, and handle the ball superbly, have made the 24-year-old a fan favourite and his youth could be key in building him into one of the greatest hookers to ever play the game.

The last two matches played for the Sharks have earned Du Plessis a man-of-the-match gong on both occasions for his flawless work, but the modest World Cup winner puts his rewards down to a team effort rather than an individual performance.

"It's been more of a team performance than anything else and it's unfair to single out individuals," said Du Plessis.

"You can't win a Super 14 on your own - it takes a fifteen-man effort and the team has really put it together in the last two games.

"So as much as it's an honour to pick up a man-of-the-match award, the team as a whole deserves special praise. I'm just doing my job."

Du Plessis has played in a high pressure match before when he was involved in the 2007 Super 14 final as a replacement when his Sharks side lost 20-19 to the Bulls in the dying seconds of the game to a Bryan Habana try.

"Last year's loss to the Bulls really hurt and is still in our minds," said Du Plessis.

"This is a time to erase the bad memories of 2007 by creating good memories and that's really important for us."

The Sharks have delighted their supporters by scoring 12 tries in their previous two matches.

But their attacking approach that the Sharks adopted to qualify for the knock-out phase may have to make room for a more conservative approach this week, however Du Plessis thinks otherwise.

"I don't think we will be doing anything different to our approach than we have in our previous thirteen games," said Du Plessis.

"Our training for this match hasn't changed from the previous matches played before this, and we not going to fix anything that isn't broken."

Perhaps not, and we're pretty sure Du Plessis won't be fixing any broken Waratahs' hearts that he hopes to break on Saturday either.

By Dave Morris