By Chris Totobela
In this week’s Heritage Month feature we pay tribute to a legend who is well known in Makhanda for his exploits on the rugby field and athletics track.
Western Duplessis started his sporting career in 1986. He was introduced to rugby by his St Mary’s Primary School mentor and first coach Billie Abrahams who laid a meaningful foundation for his career. He was later taken to the Universal Rugby Club affectionately known as “Die Bye” by Twans Abrahams who was his first local coach and took his rugby to another level.
Duplessis comes from a traditional rugby family. “My father Nakkie Duplessis and uncle Torssie Duplessis played for Rainbow Rugby Club while Twans, Gavin and Billie Abrahams played for Universals.”
At Mary Waters, he was coached by great mentors such as Pokkie Thomas Haywood, Oswil Kuscus and Aldy Meyer who gave him a taste of first team rugby. He had a long run with Universals until they joined forces with another club to form Brumbies in 2000.
Duplessis has featured for many selected sides in his time such as Sedru, Sedssu, EP Rural, EP Defence and SWD Defence. He played for B sorumbies until 2002 before coaching Rhodes University’s first rugby team until 2005.
In 2008, he coached Mary Waters 1sts and the following year he joined Kingswood College as the backline assistant coach while he was also an assistant coach at Brumbies before taking over the reigns as the head coach in 2009 and 2010.
He coached Swallows to the Sedru title in 2012 to 2013 before going away with the South African Defence Force for three years. On his return in 2018, he became Ghost Town Lions 10s head coach and also coached Swallows to another Sedru title in 2023 and is still with them.
He told Grocott’s Mail that he enjoys coaching more than playing. “In coaching I am able to make a difference as I teach values and create a good human being through my coaching method. Not all players will make it to the top in rugby, but all of them can become responsible fathers and citizens with high moral values.”
He is a man of many talents – he won the 100 and 200-metre sprints for Mary Waters in 1990 and 1991 against fierce rivals – the late Pepsi Twaku from Nyaluza High and Nombulelo High’s Lulamile Bikitsha in a packed JD Dlepu stadium track.
He is also an accredited rugby referee. Duplessis shared a Heritage Month message with the readers. “Where we come from does not determine where we will end. To reach your goals you need to have positive habits because our habits will help us reach our goals.”
Duplessis is a true legend and despite of all his achievements, he remains humble.
