Our destroyer-in-chief Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis – or just “Bissie” to the fans – celebrates his 30th birthday today.
Let’s all take a few moments to share best wishes with a true legend of Sharks rugby; Bismarck boasts the most Sharks Super Rugby caps in the current squad (114, although Jacques Botes shares that record) which is actually bloody amazing, given that he’s done it all before his 30th birthday. He has scored 14 tries at Super Rugby level for the Sharks, the most by any hooker by some distance.
While his captaincy career in admittedly in its infancy still, Bismarck has already established a proud record, boasting 9 wins in 11 games, or 81%.
Bismarck’s 57 tests for his country see him now established as the second-most-capped hooker ever (John Smit is, of course, some way ahead), with his 9 tries again the most any hooker has scored for South Africa in tests.
Happy birthday Bissie! We hope you’ve had a wonderful day in Auckland and will celebrate in style with another fantastic win over the Blues tomorrow.
Lank sal hy lewe!

Happy Birthday Captain!!!
Lank sal hy lewe indeed in a Sharks jersey
Leker Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Capo, mag dit n goeie een wees.
Bissie! Happy days! And as a birthday present.. the scalp of the Blues! You may collect at North Harbour stadium tomorrow. Enjoy meneer! 😛
Happy Birthday Bissie, your gift will be delivered tomorrow in the form of a victory over the Blues (We hope)
I’ll definitely drink a Captain this weekend on our captain’s bday 😉
Geluk Bissie
Never even realized the man was 30 already.
Have a lekker birthday – to the one and only pocket battleship
Happy birthday big guy!
@Bokhoring (Comment 8) :
Wow, you must have some mighty big pockets!
@Big Fish (Comment 9) : Bit of poetic license – as the Bismarck of the German navy was not strictly speaking a “pocket battleship” – meaning a cruiser with the armament of a full battle ship.
However I would say that Bissie counts as a “pocket battleship” on the rugby field.
@Bokhoring (Comment 10) :
Nah man. A pocket battleship is the likes of James Dalton or Jason Roberts – short but powerfully built. Bismark is just like the original pride of the German navy – big and seriously over-powered.
Happy Birthday captain hope tomorrow is a big day for you!!!!!!
Veels geluk Kaptein.
Happy birthday Bissie!