Bismarck du Plessis, dropped for tomorrow's Springbok match against Namibia, will be in the starting lineup against Samoa next week.

That promise was made to the hooker by coach Peter de Villiers.

The coach, who dropped Du Plessis from the 22-man squad for the match against Namibia, said yesterday: "If I didn't start Bismarck against Samoa I would be stupid."

Du Plessis has played only as a replacement in both Springbok games so far. He was instrumental in winning a game against Wales (17-16) and played a late part in the rout of Fiji (49-3) last Saturday.

Following his two substitute performances, Du Plessis insisted that it was time for him to start a game. He said he resented playing as a substitute.

Instead of rewarding his match-winner with a starting role against Namibia, De Villiers delivered a surprise decision early yesterday by dropping the hooker from the team.

Now it seems De Villiers has another plan with his reserve hooker.

The coach also appears to have made a decision on inside centre. Jean de Villiers, for long the first-choice centre for the Boks, is unlikely to regain that position from Frans Steyn, who stood in for the injured Stormers man.

Steyn, who also replaced De Villiers in that position at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, impressed at second receiver against Fiji on Saturday as the Boks won 49-3.

"When I went to see Frans [in France] he knew he was going to play inside centre for us. Frans wasn't at the same level [of fitness] as the other players. but we let him play himself into contention.

"The players had to start accepting the fact that he was good enough. When he made those 60-70m kicks down the touchline, the guys started saying he was a must-have.

"Frans would have played centre in one or two of these pool matches anyway. Jean's injury made it easier for us [to pick Steyn]. What also helped was the try he scored against Wales.

"Frans told me: 'You keep saying I must lose weight - there the weight helped score the try'.

"He is going to play a huge role in our way forward," the coach said.

The value of a strong Bok bench cannot be underestimated.

One of the themes emerging in this World Cup is that the difference between the top teams and the minnows is reserve strength.

"To have a guy like Jean de Villiers on the bench with all his speed and adventurism is exactly how our bench should be looking," De Villiers said.

"The same goes for Danie Rossouw, Willem Alberts, Du Plessis and Francois Hougaard - suddenly your bench is 10 times better than the starting XV."