Jannie du Plessis may be 38 but he said he felt like a young child again this week. And the reason for that is he was able to return to a rugby field to train again, alongside his teammates and with a ball in hand, for the first time in months.
“It’s like the night before Christmas, and seeing a present under the tree for the better part of two weeks,” said an excited Du Plessis, who joined the Lions from Montpellier in France at the start of the year.
But just as the Super Rugby season was about to hit the halfway mark, the coronavirus struck and all rugby across the globe was suspended. That was in mid-March and Du Plessis and all this country’s players haven’t set foot on a rugby field since.
The government gave the green light last week that South Africa’s eight franchises could return to on-field, non-contact, training this week, delighting many, including the veteran 2007 Rugby World Cup winner.
“We know we’re going to be able to open up that present soon, and that’s something to look forward to. Playing rugby is what we do, what we’re good at, and not being able to do it at the moment is hard.
“It’s been such a tough couple of months; we’re all desperate for some kind of structure in our lives, something to look forward to. The toughest part of the last few weeks has been the uncertainty now we again have a target.”
SA Rugby has plans to launch a domestic competition in late August involving the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers, the Cheetahs and Kings, as well as Griquas and the Pumas, in what will possibly be a double-round Currie Cup type of competition.
“There’s been a lot of talk about whether the Currie Cup should stay a part of South African rugby, and maybe it hasn’t been what it once was, but we’re now in a position to make it great again,” said Du Plessis.
“I love the Currie Cup; I always have it’s what I grew up watching and following, and I think most people out there feel this way. There’s so much tradition in it, and a strong connection by so many, so I think it would be great if we could get it up and running again,” he added.
And Du Plessis predicted a local competition between this country’s eight strongest teams would be “like war, but good war”.
“I think people will want to watch it. It will be exciting, good rugby. It will be tough and competitive and the players will put their bodies on the line. They’ll go out there and let all their frustrations out, leave everything on the field. It will be like war, but it’ll be a good war.”
The last four months (with all rugby suspended) have been the longest out of the game in the long career of Du Plessis. He said there was a major void in his life that needed to now be filled.
“I had a knee ligament tear in 2017 that kept me sidelined for three months, but that’s it. This is now officially the longest I haven’t trained or played any rugby in years, going back to school days.
“And you know, rugby is like your spouse, you have it in your life every day. But there’s now a void, and it’s not nice. It’s now time to fill that void again.”
@jacq_west