Former Springbok rugby captain and manager of the 1995 World Cup winning team, Morne du Plessis, will act as mentor to troubled South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs over the next six weeks.

Gibbs is required to undergo a Life Skills programme at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town as a result of persistent breaches of discipline. Since April last year he has been fined for night-clubbing the evening before a one-day international, banned for six months for his part in the match-fixing affair and most recently he was fined R10 000 for smoking marijuana during South Africa's tour of the Caribbean this year.

For reasons that are not entirely clear, the United Cricket Board's disciplinary committee chose not to enforce a suspended sentence hanging over Gibbs at the time of the marijuana-smoking episode, but instead ordered that he undergo counselling.

Du Plessis, a former provincial cricketer before rugby claimed his attention, is one of the most respected figures in South African sport. He will not be the only person to work with Gibbs, however, with several other specialists involved in a programme that, according to the UCB, includes "management, self-management, media training, leadership and work experience as they pertain to a prominent sports figure".

Gibbs will attended the programme for six hours a week for the next six weeks. Du Plessis and the other specialists will provide written reports on Gibbs' progress to the UCB.

© CricInfo