Pieter Stephanus du Toit (born 20 August 1992) is a South African professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Du Toit plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

or a flanker for the South Africa national team and the in

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. After winning the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

with South Africa, he was awarded the 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year.

School and youth career

Du Toit went to school at Hoërskool Swartland where he played mostly in the back row. Du Toit was a member of the South Africa Under 20 team that won the

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South A ...

Senior career

In July 2013, Du Toit signed a two-year contract extension with the . The Sharks announced his departure in October 2015. He made his South Africa Test debut versus

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

on 9 November 2013 at age 21. Du Toit has since become a regular for the Springboks and was a part of the South African team for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. Du Toit came off the bench in the quarter-final, when South Africa beat Wales 23–19 at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

. The following season saw Du Toit become a regular starter for South Africa, under new head coach,

Allister Coetzee Allister Coetzee (born in Makhanda) is a South African rugby union coach and former player, currently in charge of the Namibian national team on a part time basis, whilst also head coach of Rugby Rovigo in Italy. He served as the head coach o ...

. On 2 June 2018, Du Toit became the 60th captain of South Africa, as he led the Springboks out against Wales, losing the match 20–22. Du Toit also took part in the mid-year series against England, which South Africa won. He moved to the back row from 2019 onwards. Du Toit was named in South Africa's squad for the

. South Africa won the tournament, defeating

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final. He was awarded the

World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The award is presented to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". Th ...

in 2019.

International statistics

Test match record

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

Test tries

Personal life

Du Toit is the grandson of former Springbok prop, Piet "Spiere" du Toit and is the older brother of

Johan Johan * Johan (given name) * Johan (film), ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** Johan (album), ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunav ...

, also a professional rugby player. The two brothers were contracted to the at the same time (in 2014 and 2015) before reuniting at the Stormers from 2017 onwards.

References

External links

* *
Sharks Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Toit, Pieter-Steph 1992 births Rugby union players from Cape Town People from the Western Cape Living people South African rugby union players Sharks (rugby union) players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Rugby union locks Afrikaner people South Africa international rugby union players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players