Springbok centre Jesse Kriel was deservedly voted man of the match last Saturday as South Africa pipped Ireland 27-20, yet blindside flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, aka “Sonny Bill” du Toit following his flamboyant offload in the first half, would have been full value for the accolade too.
The gigantic battle machine of the Boks was as usual worth his weight in gold for the full 80 minutes of the contest.
Not only did he lend his 115kg of agricultural muscle to the menacing Bok scrum, but he also snatched opposition lineout throws at critical moments, powered across the gainline and, of course, made telling tackles.
The latter is Du Toit’s trademark, as evidenced by the whopping tackle count of 28 that earned him the man of the match award in last year’s epic Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks.
With that mind-blowing feat, he equalled Frenchman Thierry Dusautoir’s record for the highest number of tackles in a single RWC match, and Du Toit accomplished it in a final.
“The body hurt a bit, but the spirit was soaring,” Du Toit says regarding that 12-11 triumph in Paris.
“To be honest, I don’t remember much of the final; being so in the zone you are unaware of what’s happening around you.
“The World Cup does become exhausting after seven weeks and one gets emotionally drained. Yet, you keep going.”
Keep going Du Toit certainly did.
He played more than any other Bok forward at the tournament. Of the five games that he started, he stayed on for the full 80 minutes in four and was only substituted in the final five minutes of the quarter-final against France.
“The coaching staff considers specific criteria during a game, such as ‘battle rate’,” he explains.
“As soon as they pick up that a player is not involved in enough on-field ‘battles’, and is losing steam, they substitute him. Once you tire, your standards invariably drop.
“I was privileged to finish as many games as I did. It has a lot to do with conditioning.
“I am probably blessed with healthy genes too,” says the 31-year-old, whose grandfather Piet du Toit was a powerhouse prop for South Africa when they clinched the series against the All Blacks and completed a Grand Slam of the Five Nations sides in 1960-61.
“As a small boy, I discovered old photographs and a Springbok jersey of my grandfather, who had died when I was three years old, and thus the dream was born,” he recalls.
“Most boys in South Africa dream about playing for the Boks and my dream was no different. My grandfather helped to make the dream a reality though.”
Du Toit grew up on the family’s wine and olive estate, Kloovenburg, near Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape.
“After watching Bok Tests on TV, the family would braai [barbecue] and then the boys would play touch rugby until sunset. Eventually, we would collapse on the lawn and stare at the millions of stars above us.
“That was when I would quietly dream and pray to become a Springbok.”
After school, Du Toit was contracted by the Sharks in Durban, where his game went from strength to strength, and in 2013 he emerged as man of the match in a Currie Cup final win against Western Province.
Two weeks later, on November 9th, 2013, Du Toit realised his Bok dream by coming off the bench to replace Eben Etzebeth against Wales in Cardiff – where his grandfather had done battle with the Welsh 53 years before.
“As I ran on, past Eben, he stopped and said to me: ‘This is it ... Enjoy!’
“I just couldn’t stop chuckling, I was so thrilled.”
Du Toit’s joy was short-lived as he tore an ACL early the next year during preseason training, which sidelined him for 11 months.
Injuries would plague his career and in 2020 he almost lost his leg due to acute compartment syndrome.
“I suffered a heavy blow on the inside of my thigh in a Super Rugby match against the Blues, but soldiered on,” he says.
“During the second half, I took another knock that caused internal bleeding and the leg started swelling badly. I was rushed to hospital but they couldn’t drain the blood and it prevented blood from circulating to my foot.
“I had to undergo an emergency operation, involving a 40cm cut from hip to knee.”
Du Toit managed despite setbacks like this to not only accumulate 78 Tests but also to become one of only three South African players to be named World Rugby player of the year.
He scooped that award in 2019 following the Boks’ World Cup conquest in Japan, which marked the coming of age of the Rassie Erasmus era.
“Nobody gave us a chance in 2019,” Du Toit recalls. “Yet, although we were relatively young and inexperienced we were a happy bunch and everyone bought into Rassie’s plan. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Even with back-to-back World Cup winners’ medals already in his collection, Du Toit is as committed as ever to continue putting his body on the line for South Africa.
“It was great beating Ireland at Loftus Versfeld, but the job is not done. We want to win both Tests and the series.”
