South African centre Phillipus Jacobus Snyman ‘JP’ du Plessis played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2026. He represented the San Diego Legion in the early years of the competition (2018-2020) before moving the represent the NOLA Gold (2021-2026).

The San Diego Legion announced the signing of JP du Plessis ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018, earning 5 caps (all starts) as the Legion qualified for the playoffs, falling 38-24 to the Seattle Seawolves, the eventual Champions. He followed this up with an outstanding season in 2019, appearing in 17 of the Legion’s 18 games and scoring 6 tries en route to the 2019 MLR final where they fell to the Seattle Seawolves once again, 23-26 despite finishing as the top team in the league in the regular season. Du Plessis was awarded MLR Back of the Year and an All-MLR First XV selection for his performance throughout the 2019 season, where he racked up 1,200m gained and finished 9th in MLR in that category. He added another 4 caps (all starts) and 3 tries in the 2020 season, helping the Legion run out to a 5-0 record before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In October 2020, the NOLA Gold announced that they had signed JP du Plessis to a long-term contract through the 2024 MLR season. Through his first 3 season in New Orleans, du Plessis appeared in 45 of the Gold’s 48 games (43 starts) including all 16 games in 2022 when he racked up a huge 1,533m gained in possession and finished 2nd in MLR by only 20m to LA’s Billy Meakes. The following year du Plessis scored a personal best of 7 tries in a season where he gained over 1100m and delivered 144 successful tackles. He earned an All-MLR Second XV selection for his performance throughout the 2023 season.

On 9th October 2023, the NOLA Gold announced the return of 32yo JP du Plessis on a contract that runs through the 2026 MLR season. He appeared in 13 games (all starts) during the 2024 season as the Gold finally earned their first MLR playoff appearance after 7 seasons in the competition, where du Plessis started the first playoff game in NOLA Gold history, a 21-45 defeat to the Chicago Hounds in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. JP du Plessis is one of the most capped players in MLR history, having earned 84 caps (82 starts) since 2018, scoring 20 tries and earning 16 Team of the Week selections.

Achievements

• MLR Team of the Week: 2024 – Rd 16
• All-MLR Second XV Selection: 2023
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 11
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 10
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 6
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 5
• MLR Team of the Week: 2023 – Rd 4
• 2nd in MLR Meters Gained: 2022 (1,533m)
• MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 13
• MLR Team of the Week: 2022 – Rd 12
• Honourable Mention XV Selection: 2021
• MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 16
• MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 14
• MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 9
• MLR Team of the Week: 2021 – Rd 4
• MLR Runner-Up: 2019 (San Diego Legion)
• 2019 MLR Back of the Year
• All-MLR First XV Selection: 2019
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Championship Final
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Semi-Finals
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 19
• MLR Team of the Week: 2019 – Rd 10