Jannie du Plessis

Jannie du Plessis is a former South African rugby union prop, born in Bethlehem in the Free State in 1982. He came through the Free State age-group sides, made the senior Free State Cheetahs team in 2003 and played Super Rugby for the Cheetahs before moving to the Sharks in Durban in 2007, where he stayed until 2015. He later played for Montpellier in the French Top 14 and for the Lions. He won 70 caps for South Africa and was part of the Springbok squad that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup, playing in the quarterfinal against Fiji. He also trained as a doctor at the University of the Free State and worked in medicine, which is unusual among professional players. His younger brother Bismarck made his Springbok debut in the same match as Jannie in 2007.