Rugby: Repentant du Plessis comes back for Highlanders clash, but not as captain

Bismarck du Plessis has completed his four-match ban for a kick to the head of a Chiefs player. Photo / Getty Images

A penitent Bismarck du Plessis will return to the Sharks' front row for tomorrow's match against the Highlanders in Dunedin but will not resume the captaincy.

The hooker has completed his four-match ban for a kick to the head of a Chiefs player, a suspension that started the week after he had issued a public apology for "irresponsible behaviour" in a match against the Bulls in Pretoria. After a frank discussion with coach Gary Gold, du Plessis has also agreed it was best for the team that experienced lock Marco Wentzel continued leading the side while he concentrated on recapturing the form that made him the best hooker in the world in 2012 and 2013 and, some would argue, 2011 as well.

The reality is that du Plessis was always going to be demoted after repeated acts of ill-discipline that go back to 2014 when he was made captain by then coach Jake White.

Du Plessis can be a fantastic player, but his tendency to embrace the red mist makes him a debatable leader - in a rugby game, anyway. You would follow him in the Charge of the Light Brigade, but we know how that ended before the Russian guns in the Crimea.

Before the Sharks left on tour, Gold admitted he and du Plessis had to discuss the captaincy and a "decision that benefits the team will be made, without sentimentality".

Gold, speaking from the Sharks' temporary base in the Sydney suburb of Coogee Beach, attempted to disguise the blindingly obvious when he said that a demure du Plessis had re-evaluated his capacity to lead the side at a time when his form was an issue - he has lost his place as Springbok starting hooker to Adriaan Strauss.

"Bismarck has shown incredible humility about his personal situation over the past month and he feels that he just wants to get back into the Sharks team and make as big an impact as he can," Gold diplomatically said before spinning the following: "It's unbelievably noble of Bismarck to have this attitude and this is a much bigger deal as far as the media goes than it is for us. Marco has done a good job [since taking over a fortnight ago from injured stand-in captain Patrick Lambie] and he will retain the captaincy."

Gold said that he had been impressed with du Plessis' attitude during his suspension.

"He wants to prove his worth and concentrate on playing well for the Sharks again," Gold said. "He has been extremely hard on himself over the last four weeks. [The captaincy issue] has been driven by him. He wants to give back to the team and its supporters and we will select him to give him that opportunity."

- Independent Newspapers, SA