Rugby World Cup 2015: Why Bismarck du Plessis Will Be South Africa's X-Factor

The role of the hooker has been under the spotlight in the northern hemisphere during the Rugby World Cup warm-up phase before the tournament starts 18 September.

Both England and Scotland have a first-choice man in the role whose work around the field is outstanding, but Tom Youngs and Ross Ford have major issues with their throwing into the lineout for their respective teams.

With Dylan Hartley absent for England and no real contender to Ford’s spot as Scotland’s first choice, both sides seem rather stuck with the men in possession of the shirts, regardless of how many throws go astray at the set piece.

Wales, meanwhile, have seen fit to do without the vastly experienced British and Irish Lions incumbent Richard Hibbard, hoping their less-tested options have what it takes.

There are no such conundrums for any of the major sides from south of the equator. Australia stalwart Stephen Moore is as reliable as ever and tireless around the field.

Dane Coles has assumed Keven Mealamu’s New Zealand jersey and gets better each time he plays, while Argentina skipper Agustin Creevy is a dynamic and inspirational figure in the No. 2 jersey.

As for South Africa? They have the world’s best hooker in the shape of Bismarck du Plessis.

The Sharks man—bound for Montpellier after the World Cup—can do it all. Solid in the scrum, accurate in the lineout and, most significantly, a phenom at the breakdown.

Du Plessis earns the title of South Africa’s X-factor because he has combined world-class set-piece play with the ability to perform as a fourth back-row player when it comes to the tackle area.

Bossing the breakdown

The most striking recent evidence of each of these attributes came in South Africa’s away defeat to Australia in Brisbane.

The Springboks bossed the first hour of the game, and several times in the first half, it was Du Plessis who found himself clamped over the ball, ripping it off the tackled Wallaby player and turning possession over. Richie McCaw would have been proud of that body of work.

Schalk van Zuydam/Associated Press

Furthermore, the South African scrum was battering its gold-shirted opponents until head coach Heyneke Meyer yanked off his first-choice front row.

The removal of Du Plessis and his propping colleagues signalled a turning of the tide in the scrum—and, indeed, the game itself.

From a solid winning position, South Africa lost their momentum, lost their grip on the tight exchanges and, ultimately, lost the game.

Mark Keohane wrote in Business Day (h/t SA Rugby):

"

Bismarck du Plessis should never have been substituted on 49 minutes. He was colossal in everything, especially his ability to turn over ball, and he gave the Boks an additional fetcher option. He also did the basics so well. He had presence; mongrel and mostly he had discipline.

Australia could not cope with Du Plessis, and in the 49 minutes he was leading the Bok charge, the Aussies could not cope with the Bok forwards, be it at set piece or at the breakdown.

"

Battering the All Blacks

A week later, New Zealand travelled to Johannesburg. The Boks almost beat them there for the second year running until McCaw’s late sting in the tail.

Prior to that, South Africa were the better side, and one moment summed up Du Plessis' incredible work rate around the park. He had, as usual, done all the hard-yards stuff well, but all of a sudden, there he was chasing down a kick upfield that was fielded and handed on to All Blacks No. 8 Kieran Read.

Schalk van Zuydam/Associated Press

Read couldn’t gather the suspect pass from his team-mate quickly enough, and the South African hooker smashed into the 2014 World Player of the Year, regained possession and sparked a move that ended two phases later in a try for his team.

The value of this defensive work from a hooker is akin to football pundits rating a world-class goalkeeper as worth 12 points a season.

Having Du Plessis in the side adds so much more than just a solid set-piece merchant to South Africa’s arsenal, as Rob Houwing of Sport24 writes: "A troubled tenure as Sharks captain is now well out of the way, and he is back producing the kind of super-robust, dynamic rugby for which he was acclaimed before the flirtation with leadership—the hooker will also be a strong factor in Bok turnover plans at the breakdown."

Smit says…

The last word goes to the man who fought tooth and nail to keep the No. 2 jersey from Du Plessis towards the end of his own career.

World Cup-winning Bok skipper John Smit told Business Day: "All Bismarck has to do is what comes naturally to him: play hard, get into the face of the opponents and be a brutal physical force for SA. When he is on song, as we’ve seen, he is a guy that can shape the nature of a game and it’s wonderful to see him playing well again."