Bok juggernaut Thomas du Toit will draw on every ounce of his front-row nous when Bath and Bordeaux Bègles pack down in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
A mainstay in the tight five for Bath since his move from the Sharks in 2023, the 30-year-old is set to play a key role in the English club’s first Champions Cup semi-final in 20 years.
Able to play tighthead and loosehead prop, Du Toit has earned a reputation as a high-impact powerhouse off the bench for Johann van Graan’s men, but will start in the No 3 jumper at the Stade Atlantique Bordeaux Métropole this week.
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“I couldn’t care less whether I start, I just want to win the game,” Du Toit told The Telegraph. “So wherever Johann feels I need to slot into the team, I completely trust his opinion.
“I have told him multiple times if I am not playing a good game, take me off after 30 minutes. There’s no shame in it. We all have bad days.”
That honesty is rooted in experience. At 22, Du Toit shared, he was dismantled by journeyman prop Jacques van Rooyen in a lesson he has never forgotten.
“He smoked me, completely smoked me,” Du Toit said. “If he did not win five penalties against me that day, it was seven. He killed me. It is difficult to get over that as a young guy.”
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The Paarl Boys’ High prodigy was twice overlooked for World Cup squads, in 2019 and 2023, yet his standout form for Bath earned him a regular Springbok spot last year.
Du Toit, who will return to the Sharks at the end of the season, featured in nine of the back-to-back world champions’ 14 Tests in 2023, starting eight.
“When I look back at it, I was devastated [at not being selected for the World Cups],” he said. “Looking back at it now… there’s so many good things that have come out of it.
“You can have all the talent in the world, but it does not mean anything unless you work at it.”
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
The post Driven Du Toit on what fuels his tank appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Bok juggernaut Thomas du Toit will draw on every ounce of his front-row nous when Bath and Bordeaux Bègles pack down in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
The post Driven Du Toit on what fuels his tank appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
