Du Toit won his first Player of the Year award after playing a major role in the Boks charge to the Rugby World Cup title in Japan in 2019.
Springbok loose forward Pieter-Steph du Toit reigned supreme when he was crowned World Rugby Player of the Year for a second time at a glittering awards ceremony held in Monaco on Sunday night.
Du Toit won his first Player of the Year award after playing a major role in the Boks charge to the Rugby World Cup title in Japan in 2019 and becomes the first South African to win the award twice.
The only other multiple winners of the prestigious individual award are All Blacks Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, who have won three, and Beauden Barrett who has won it twice.
It was unfortunately heartbreak for Eben Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe who would both have been deserving winners if picked, and both have now missed out on the award more than once, after Etzebeth was also nominated in 2023 and 2013, and Kolbe in 2019.
The Boks dominated World Rugby’s team of the year with seven players, namely the three World Player nominees, Du Toit, Kolbe and Etzebeth, as well as prop Ox Nche, hooker Malcolm Marx and centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
Ireland had four players selected, the All Blacks three and one from Argentina to round out the 15.
Rassie snub
Earlier in the evening Bok coaching maestro Rassie Erasmus was incredibly snubbed for the Coach of the Year award, in favour of French Sevens coach Jerome Daret, who led his team to the Sevens Series and Olympic titles.
Last year World Cup winning coach Jacques Nienaber was snubbed in favour of Ireland’s Six Nations winning coach Andy Farrell.
So it will leave a bitter taste in many fans mouths after Erasmus was also ignored this time, despite a brilliant year for the Boks that saw them win 11 out of 13 games, with just two one point losses, and claim a dominant Rugby Championship title.
Another South African to miss out was exciting young utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with his injury that kept him out of the Boks final five games of the season, probably assisting All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi winning the Breakthrough Player of the Year award ahead of him.
