Jake ramps up Bulls-Stormers drama with cited Bismarck's pick: '100% sure he'll play'

Bulls mentor Jake White insists he's not taking a gamble by including Bismarck du Plessis on the bench for Saturday's massive United Rugby Championship derby against the Stormers on Saturday.

The former Springbok hooker is understood to have attended a disciplinary hearing late on Friday afternoon after being cited for an alleged strike to the face of Western Province lock Ben-Jason Dixon during Wednesday night's Currie Cup encounter at Loftus.

Du Plessis' apparent indiscretion caused a subsequent stir, mostly because there was no conclusive camera angle on the incident during the TV broadcast, merely a grainy wide shot from the stands.

WP were highly annoyed afterwards, with skipper Nama Xaba revealing that Dixon had a bruise above his eye to show for his trouble.

He, however, couldn't say whether Du Plessis used an open hand or closed fist.

An adjudication is expected latest by Saturday morning.

READ | WATCH | Bismarck du Plessis in hot water over alleged punch controversy: 'It's outrageous'

"You're telling me there's a hearing? If there's one, I'm 100% sure Bismarck won't be suspended," said White.

"One of the articles I read said that a WP player 'thinks' that Bismarck slapped the player in question. I'm pretty sure you can't really [hope for a successful citing] if a player 'thinks' he was slapped. 

"It's an allegation that needs to be proven, innocent until proven otherwise. Isn't it wonderful that our replacement hooker is getting more TV time and attention than the game itself?

White then added a bit of fuel to the fire by suggesting the Capetonians possibly wasted energy that could've been channeled towards the game on getting Du Plessis sanctioned while also unexpectedly revealing that his stalwart was allegedly punched