Bismarck gets three-week ban for slap incident

Seasoned Bulls hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been handed a three-week ban following an incident in the Currie Cup game against Western Province at Loftus where he was accused of striking out at a player.

Du Plessis’s bench place in the Bulls team for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers in Cape Town will be taken by Joe van Zyl.

The ban includes all matches, starting with Saturday’s match, over the next three weeks.

This is the second suspension meted out to the former Bok hooker in recent weeks following his red card for lifting a Munster player in the air and dropping him on his head.

Bulls boss Jake White was confident on Friday that there was little evidence to support the Western province claim that Du Plessis punched or slapped Ben-Jason Dixon.

“I’m 100% sure Bismarck will run out and play,” White said on Friday after naming Du Plessis on his replacements bench for Saturday’s match. “I see a Western Province player thinks Bismarck slapped him.

“I didn’t realise you could be cited for someone thinking you had slapped him. Bongi Mbonambi punched Bismarck recently and there was no citing. But there has been massive publicity over Bismarck.”

Did Bismarck throw a punch or slap someone? You decide.