Pieter-Steph du Toit, a behemoth on the field and a two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, has essentially redefined what it means to be a flanker for the Springboks. At 32, his relentless performance continues to set a towering benchmark that upcoming players find daunting to match. With his birthday around the corner, making him 33, the spotlight intensifies on who could possibly fill his colossal boots.
While the likes of Vincent Tshituka and Batho Hlekani are on the radar with their recent impressive stints—Tshituka during the mid-year series and Hlekani in the World Rugby U20 Championship—Schalk Burger, a former Springboks back-rower, pinpoints a significant hurdle. On the Boks Unpacked podcast, Burger explained,
"The biggest challenge for him (Hlekani) is everyone now gets measured to Pieter-Steph’s work rate. I think that’s the issue."
Tshituka, known for his physicality and effective ball-carrying, shares a similar style to Du Toit, but it’s Du Toit’s unmatched stamina that sets him apart.Joe Schmidt, intrigued by the strategic depths of the Springboks under Rassie Erasmus, craves insights into their coaching sessions, a testament to the innovative approaches that have kept the team at the zenith of world rugby.
Meanwhile, Jean de Villiers, another Springboks legend, recognizes the potential in players like Hlekani. His transition from the Sharks to the Lions has been a talking point, and expectations are high for his debut in the upcoming United Rugby Championship season. De Villiers noted,
"You will have those impact players. He's a big boy, he will do the bullocking runs and make big tackles but it’s doing effort upon effort."
Burger concurs, emphasizing the need for consistency in high-performance contributions—a concept he refers to as "battle stats", a crucial factor that Erasmus heavily weighs. As the search for Du Toit’s successor continues, the challenge remains not just in matching his physical attributes but his relentless engine and work rate, elements that have defined his illustrious career and elevated the standards of what it takes to wear the Springbok green and gold.