Steph du Toit gets to start

Probably no player in recent memory was more anointed than Steph du Toit when he trotted out in last year's S15. But he was still a school boy really, and was tossed around like a twig and hurt. It was too soon.

Come 2013, and as predicted, he looks more like he fits. I'm guessing there is 10 more lbs of muscle on that lanky frame. He no longer goes backwards  in the collisions.  And he was always technically well trained....he handles the ball superbly and offloads well. More importantly even last year (sometimes to his cost) he showed fighting spirit. The kid has huge enthusiasm and wants to compete.

On Saturday we will find out if he can sustain that for 80 minutes vs 15 minutes off the bench. He expends a lot of energy, not all of it constructive. This is probably a future Springbok......how soon we will find out in the second half against the Rebels.

Moart

I was rather surprised by your comments above.   The kid showed a lot of promise in the Junior WC and I was seriously impressed with him.   He was 118 kgs last year and still reportedly  is the same weight.   However, he was very young last year - 19 years of age - and probably shed some baby fat (excuse the term) and instead added muscle strength. He is only 20 years old and I think he will improve with experience.

I am going to watch him keenly on Saturday and we can then come up with an assessment on him.   What I do notice is that for a person his size - he is actually speedy and may even make an impression in looser format of plays. 

Moz this lad is the real deal, I said as much after watching him in last years Junior Champs. Jan Serfontein was named player of the tournament, but for me Steph du Toit was the pick.

Disagree with you on his performance last year at S15 level, the only time he went backwards was when 2 players hit him at once. He got injured taking a kick off, landing awkwardly, the injury had nothing to do with an opponent.

Am not sure how big he is now, his stats for the Baby Boks had him at 2m and 118kg. No doubt he is going to want to make a point so chances are he will go hell for leather and burn by 60min. Once settled in the starting side, hopefully he will learn to hold back a little. But imagine the prospect of this lad and Etzebeth together......will be something to behold.

 He looks like a serious talent and we wish him well. I very much doubt he is the same weight as last year.

However why oh why not at 7!!!! Daniel at a more likely 94 kg, Botes at 100 and  Coetzee at 106. It too light!!!! The locks are not monsters and neither is the hooker. 

Imagine if the sharks play this as their loose trio against the crusties. 

Plum has got this one badly wrong although he may just still come away with a win. Madness.

Yep Beenkop, the Sharks loosies are wrong.......there is no grunt there at all and I dont rate Franco v/d Merwe at lock. JA Marais should have replaced him. Stu tells me Marais has been in great form in the Vodacom Cup - at least he is on the bench for the Sharks this weekend.

Daniel is a class act but should only ever play 6. He is not 94kg, he is 100kg

Saffex

Allow me to quote what Sasue said on the Fanasy sport thread about Du Toit:-

"recruited du toit as soon as i seen his name in the squad, thought he was good last year, but hes seems to be the type of player who gets better the tougher the game is, so its quite scary what he could turn into in a Boks jersey.
an lock pairing of ezebeth & dutoit is somehting that im warming up to bg time.

Have to agree with this Kiwi about that one. 

I called for that lock pairing during last years Baby Bok truimph. By end of the S15, we need to see Steph du Toit on the Bok bench, ready to take over from Bekker in the very near future, especially considering Bekker is off to Japan

Very happy about this...I believe both the Sharks and the Boks have a gem here as Saffex says an awesome pairing with Etzebeth...maybe even greater than Matfield and Bakkies and that's a slightly ambitious prediction but these 2 young men have skills,speed and driving power not to mention they are both bloed jong. Looking forward too to watch him in this game on Saturday.

We are yet to see Jaques du Plessis, the kid snapped up by the Bulls. He is in the Baby Bok squad and another Steph du Toit in that he is often employed at 7 given his skill level and speed.

He was the star of the SA schools side a year or two ago and would probably have been part of the Bulls S15 squad had he not been injured. I think he is due back soon and its only a matter of time before we get to witness his worth.

At 2.01m and 119kg, he will be another to add to the lock equation no doubt. I am also a Paul Willemse fan, I like his physicality and that Bakkies mentality that gets him into trouble now and again. Good to see him starting for the Bulls tomorrow