Cape Town – Springbok and Montpellier hooker Bismarck du Plessis proved there's a softer side to the hard man we're all accustomed to seeing on the rugby pitch after he gave his winner's medal to Wiaan Liebenberg.
There was cause for celebration as the Jake White-coached Montpellier defeated Harlequins 26-19 on Friday night to take the European Challenge Cup final, and the crown.
But there was one prominent Montpellier man sidelined by injury, and Du Plessis went out of his way to include him in the revelry.
Former Bulls flanker and one-time Baby Bok captain, the Cape Town-born Wiaan Liebenberg, had featured prominently in all the French club's matches leading up to the competition decider but was ruled out of the final due to injury.
Du Plessis wasn't having any of it. “I'm quite a sentimental guy, and there is a certain guy, Wiaan Liebenberg, who played all of our games but couldn't play the final, so my medal will be going to him,” he said.
Montpellier's wider squad includes no less than 12 South African players, among them Du Plessis' brother and fellow Bok Jannie, as well as Pat Cilliers, Pierre Spies, Francois Steyn and former Stormers and WP pivot, Demetri Catrakilis.
With a Rugby World Cup final win under his belt, Du Plessis is no stranger to winner's medals. This time, however, he felt it would be better served in his prolific teammate's trophy cabinet.
“He was man-of-the-match six times for us this season but he couldn't play tonight,” said Du Plessis on Friday. He added: “It's amazing for this group, who hadn't won anything together. It's really special for everybody at Montpellier, it's our first cup and we are really, really happy about that.
“If you look at the Challenge Cups that Harlequins have won, they won them all in the last two or three minutes. We knew they were going to come back, and you have to give credit to them.
“They have massive international players who played great rugby tonight.”
Montpellier's European Challenge win also means they have secured a spot in the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the Heineken Cup in 2014, giving the club yet another opportunity to challenge for higher honours.
Should Du Plessis and his teammates go all the way in the next level of European competition, it remains to be seen whether or not he'll hold onto his next medal.
For now, the former Sharks stalwart is savouring the hard-earned victory with his newfound team, and he couldn't be any prouder. “In the first-half they didn't get into our 22 once, and that was one thing we wanted to do, starve them of field position,” he said. “We knew they had strong ball carriers and strong backs who could make magic. So our plan was not to let them into our 22 because their international players can score from any opportunity.” - African News Agency (ANA)