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Cape Town - Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis says he would much rather play the full 80 minutes in a game than come off the bench as an impact player.
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There have been calls, both locally and worldwide, for Du Plessis to be included in the Springbok starting line-up ahead of John Smit at hooker.
And while the 27-year-old from Bethlehem in the Free State won't be tricked into saying anything derogatory about his captain Smit's role, he admitted he does not like to be branded an impact player.
"No, no, no, please - Don't call me an impact player," Die Burger newspaper reported Du Plesis as saying after a New Zealand journalist asked him whether he likes his bench-sitting role.
"I want to play the whole time. A guy that tells you he enjoys sitting on the bench is lying to you. But Peter de Villiers (Bok coach) told me what he wants from me and I'll gladly oblige," said Du Plessis.
Du Plessis says the worst part of warming the bench is "to sit there for an hour".
"And then you have to warm up. It's really not nice. You get stiff from sitting the whole time and then you have to stretch and jog next to the touchline. It's a bit of a pain."
After Ireland's shock 15-6 upset of Australia on Saturday, the Boks are expected to meet the Australians in the quarter-finals - except if Italy can somehow snatch a surprise win over Ireland in their Pool C encounter.
And Du Plessis has not ruled out any more more surprises, but should the Boks meet the Aussies, he feels they will nevertheless pose a big challenge, despite going down to Ireland.
"(Will) Genia and (Quade) Cooper remain top players in a very good season. David Pocock's return will make them a lot stronger," said Du Plessis.
The Boks play Namibia on Thursday. The match kicks off at 20:00 (10:00 SA time).
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Pat Lambie, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), Gurthro Steenkamp.
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Francois Louw, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.
Namibia:
15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie van Wyk, 12 Piet van Zyl, 11 Heine Bock, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Tinus du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Bertus O'Callaghan, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys
Substitutes: 16 Hugo Horn, 17 Jané du Toit, 18 Pieter Jan van Lill, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan de la Harpe, 21 Darryl de la Harpe, 22 Conrad Marais
* Click HERE for the latest RWC odds on BET.CO.ZA
WIN a pair of the new adidas rugby boots
WIN a Rugby World Cup ball
There have been calls, both locally and worldwide, for Du Plessis to be included in the Springbok starting line-up ahead of John Smit at hooker.
And while the 27-year-old from Bethlehem in the Free State won't be tricked into saying anything derogatory about his captain Smit's role, he admitted he does not like to be branded an impact player.
"No, no, no, please - Don't call me an impact player," Die Burger newspaper reported Du Plesis as saying after a New Zealand journalist asked him whether he likes his bench-sitting role.
"I want to play the whole time. A guy that tells you he enjoys sitting on the bench is lying to you. But Peter de Villiers (Bok coach) told me what he wants from me and I'll gladly oblige," said Du Plessis.
Du Plessis says the worst part of warming the bench is "to sit there for an hour".
"And then you have to warm up. It's really not nice. You get stiff from sitting the whole time and then you have to stretch and jog next to the touchline. It's a bit of a pain."
After Ireland's shock 15-6 upset of Australia on Saturday, the Boks are expected to meet the Australians in the quarter-finals - except if Italy can somehow snatch a surprise win over Ireland in their Pool C encounter.
And Du Plessis has not ruled out any more more surprises, but should the Boks meet the Aussies, he feels they will nevertheless pose a big challenge, despite going down to Ireland.
"(Will) Genia and (Quade) Cooper remain top players in a very good season. David Pocock's return will make them a lot stronger," said Du Plessis.
The Boks play Namibia on Thursday. The match kicks off at 20:00 (10:00 SA time).
Teams:
South Africa:
15 Pat Lambie, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), Gurthro Steenkamp.
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Francois Louw, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.
Namibia:
15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie van Wyk, 12 Piet van Zyl, 11 Heine Bock, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger (c), 6 Tinus du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Bertus O'Callaghan, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys
Substitutes: 16 Hugo Horn, 17 Jané du Toit, 18 Pieter Jan van Lill, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan de la Harpe, 21 Darryl de la Harpe, 22 Conrad Marais
* Click HERE for the latest RWC odds on BET.CO.ZA
