Carel du Plessis
Full names: Carel Johan
Date of birth: 24 Jun 1960
Place of birth: Somerset East
Schools: Gill College Paarl Boys High
Springbok no: 523
Debut test province: Western Province
Physical: 1.84m, 85kg
Current age: 63

Test summary: Tests: 12 Tries: 4
First Test: 27 Mar 1982 Age:21 Left Wing against South America at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Last Test: 2 Sep 1989 Age:29 Left Wing against World Invitation at Ellispark, Johannesburg
Test history:
DateAgePositionOpponentResultScoreVenueProv
27 Mar 198221Left WingSouth AmericaWin: 50-181 tryLoftus Versfeld, PretoriaWP
03 Apr 198221Left WingSouth AmericaLose: 12-21 Free State Stadium, BloemfonteinWP
02 Jun 198423Left WingEnglandWin: 33-151 tryBoet Erasmus, Port ElizabethWP
09 Jun 198423Left WingEnglandWin: 35-9 Ellispark, JohannesburgWP
20 Oct 198424Left WingSouth AmericaWin: 32-15 Loftus Versfeld, PretoriaWP
27 Oct 198424Left WingSouth AmericaWin: 22-131 tryNewlands, Cape TownWP
10 May 198625Left WingNZ CavaliersWin: 21-151 tryNewlands, Cape TownWP
17 May 198625Left WingNZ CavaliersLose: 18-19 Kingspark, DurbanWP
24 May 198625Left WingNZ CavaliersWin: 33-18 Loftus Versfeld, PretoriaWP
31 May 198625Left WingNZ CavaliersWin: 24-10 Ellispark, JohannesburgWP
26 Aug 198929Left WingWorld InvitationWin: 20-19 Newlands, Cape TownWP
02 Sep 198929Left WingWorld InvitationWin: 22-16 Ellispark, JohannesburgWP

Carel du Plessis : Doc Craven

Like all true artists, Carel has a temperament which he sometimes has difficulty in controlling. His rugby started at Paarl Boys High and in the late 1970's he played in Craven Week as a stand-off half.

It so happened that when he came to Stellenbosch he played at centre. We only found out after we had selected him at centre that he actually preferred the wing position. There was a bit of a squabble about all this and we subsequently dropped him altogether.

Later when we felt he had had his punishment we selected him on the wing and he was soon in the Western Province team.

Absolute brilliance was his once he felt happy in his position. He never looked back. He was right and I was wrong. He has gone on to score some of the greatest tries ever from the wing position and has represented his country with courage and distinction.