Springboks: Pieter-Steph du Toit set for ANOTHER major surgery, decision to be made in the ‘next few days’ for the World Rugby Player of the Year

Men’s World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit could be set to undergo surgery on a troublesome shoulder now that the Test season has come to an end.

The tireless blindside enjoyed yet another blockbuster season in green and gold where he was a central figure to the team’s success thanks to his massive engine on defence while he added more tries to his game during this campaign.

Du Toit played in 10 of 13 Tests and thanks to his nature as a player there is absolutely no regard for his own safety in how he continuously flies into contact on both sides of the ball.

 

Game time takes its toll

Naturally, this has resulted in the flank carrying injuries, one of which is his shoulder and the Springbok confirmed there could be surgery.

“We will make a call on what is going to happen in the next few days – not ruling out the possibility of surgery,” the Player of the Year said.

 

Groundbreaker

With the World Rugby Player of the Year gong, Du Toit became the first South African in history to win the award twice and SA Rugby president Mark Alexander was full of praise for the superstar.

“On behalf of SA Rugby, I’d like to extend our sincere 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 (Davids) for his consistently great performances during a challenging season for the Blitzboks,” Alexander said.

“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.”

The Springboks have confirmed their home fixtures for 2025 with two Test against Italy and Australia while there is one against Georgia and Argentina respectively.