Pieter-Steph du Toit named men’s World Rugby Player of the Year after monumental season

Pieter-Steph du Toit carries ball for South Africa during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against England at Allianz Stadium (Twickenham). (Photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

24 Nov 2024

Brilliant Springbok flank Pieter-Steph du Toit was crowned the men’s World Rugby Player of the Year in Monaco on Sunday night.

For a man who plays as hard as he does, Pieter-Steph du Toit’s second World Player of the Year award, following his 2019 gong, is a testament to his fitness and mentality.

Du Toit was honoured with the award in Monaco on Sunday, beating out fellow Springboks Eben Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe, and Ireland No 8 Caelan Doris.

Such was the quality of the quartet, and particularly the Bok trio on the nominations list, that anyone of them could have won and it wouldn’t have felt like an injustice.

Du Toit produced another colossal body of work in 2024, playing just about every minute of every match in which he represented the Boks this year.

This award was deserved and also a nod to his remarkable consistency, playing in one of the most demanding positions in all of sport. And he has been doing it for 12 years, with almost three years lost to various injuries.

He’s won the SA Player of the Year award three times as well, but the 2024 World Rugby accolade might be his greatest yet for the ultimate team man.

Read more: Pieter-Steph du Toit makes rugby comeback 398 days later

He won it in a year where so many great players operated at a stratospheric level.

Etzebeth must surely be wondering if he can play any better, while contributing to perhaps the greatest Bok team of all time. He was sensational in 2024, picking up from the form he displayed in 2023 where he was unlucky to lose out to Ardie Savea for the award.

Kolbe too, continues to defy age and workload and Doris was superb all season, capping a fine year with a world-class display as he led Ireland to victory over the Boks in Durban.

Eben Etzebeth (second from left) was nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award, along with Pieter-Steph du Toit (far right) and Cheslin Kolbe (not pictured). (Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini / Gallo Images)

Cemented legacy

Du Toit cemented his place in history by becoming the first South African to be named the World Men’s 15s Player of the Year for a second time.

All Black greats Dan Carter and Richie McCaw won it three times and, until Du Toit, Beauden Barrett was the only other player to win it more than once since the award’s inception in 2001.

Read more: Pieter-Steph du Toit narrowly escapes leg amputation

The 32-year-old Du Toit was one of seven Springbok Rugby World Cup winners named in the 2024 Dream Team. The trio of Du Toit, Etzebeth and Kolbe were joined in the side by Ox Nche (prop), Malcolm Marx (hooker), and the centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel – which capped off a rewarding evening for the top ranked side in the world.

New Zealand’s Wallace Sititi pipped talented young Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for the Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year award, while Jérôme Daret, who led the French men’s sevens team to the Olympic gold medal in Paris, was named Coach of the Year.

Pieter-Steph du Toit of South Africa during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match against England at Allianz Stadium (Twickenham). (Photo: Visionhaus / Getty Images)

Other awards

The glittering event also highlighted other South African contributions to global rugby. Selvyn Davids, captain of the Blitzboks, earned a spot in the Men’s Sevens Dream Team, while SA Rugby won the Rugby for All Award, which celebrates impactful initiatives that uphold rugby’s core values.

SA Rugby’s “The Bag That Builds” project was particularly commended for promoting sustainability by repurposing tournament waste into building materials for community housing projects.

SA Rugby President Mr Mark Alexander lauded all the players for being honoured in such a remarkable year for the Boks, in which they registered an 85% win record after claiming the Rugby Championship title as well as the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate, Freedom Cup and Prince William Cup (against Wales), and said this was a just reward for their fine efforts on the field this season.

“On behalf of SA Rugby, I’d like to extend our since congratulations to Pieter-Steph and all the players named in the Dream Team for receiving this recognition for all the hard work they’ve been putting in on and off the field this year, as well as Selvyn for his consistently great performances during a challenging season for the Blitzboks,” said Alexander.

“For Pieter-Steph to become the first South African to win the World Rugby Player of the Year award twice is a notable achievement, and to have seven Boks in total feature in the Dream Team is simply remarkable.

“Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has built something special with the Bok team, and the way the players give their all week in and week out is an inspiration to us all and shows that hard pays off.

“We are very proud of them and the entire Springbok coaching and management team for their tireless efforts to ensure that our players continue to shine on the international stage.”

The recognition for their colossal performances in the green and gold this season, which contributed immensely to the team’s 11 victories in 13 matches, followed on nominations for Etzebeth in 2013 and last year, and Kolbe and Du Toit in 2019, respectively.

Other South Africans who received nominations for the Men’s 15s Player of the Year Award in the last decade are Willie le Roux and Duane Vermeulen (both in 2014), Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx (both in 2018), and Lukhanyo Am (2022).

Apart from Du Toit, only two other South Africans have walked away with top honours – Schalk Burger in 2004 and Bryan Habana in 2007.

Erasmus was also full of praise for the players and entire Springbok team and said: “To have so many of our players feature in the awards is a testament to their hard work, and dedication to the team and the Springbok brand, and that’s what makes this such a special group.

“What makes this achievement even significant is that we used 50 players in total this season and rotated our squad regularly, which shows the calibre of players they are. But rugby is a team sport, and it takes each one of the squad members to do their bit to place one another in positions to shine.

“With the vast player depth in our squad, I’m sure a few more players were close to being nominated, but each one of these players certainly deserves this recognition and we are very proud of them.”

Erasmus also thanked the entire Bok squad for their efforts this season: “It takes each person in a squad to perform their role proficiently to ensure that the players can deliver on the field, so thank you to the winners and Dream team players, as well as every other player who has been part of the squad this year.” DM

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Cemented legacy

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