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Pieter-Steph du Toit on the now infamous RWC semi-final halftime spray
A soft-spoken farm boy at heart, when Pieter-Steph du Toit speaks up, people listen. That message was never more evident than in the change room footage that was released from the Rugby World Cup semi-final against England.
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Outplayed on a rainy night in Paris, the Chasing the Sun 2 cameras captured the mood within the Springboks change room as they trailed 12-6 at halftime, and didn’t know which way to turn.
The fascinating moment was included early on in a teaser for the brilliant series, with Du Toit’s intervention going on to be one of the most significant few minutes of the campaign.
“When I first saw the commercial and it had that speech, I was like ‘oh no’. Because in South Africa you want to be a role model for children as well, and you don’t want to swear on live television, you don’t want to do certain stuff. That’s not good,” the imposing loose forward told Jim Hamilton in their recent chat in Japan, now on RugbyPass TV.
“I told my mates, I just hope that they (Chasing the Sun 2 producers) give the whole context behind what really happened. And as you can see, they kind of did.
“What’s going on is something I haven’t experienced in a changeroom. We always go into a changeroom, we’ve got plans. This is working, this is not working. Let’s do this, let’s not do this.
“Rassie came in, said what he had to say, took the reserves into a room next door. I was just looking around and the coaches were standing behind a table on that side, and everyone was just sitting there. This is not what we are used to.
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“This is not our system that’s going on. We’ve got to make plans, that’s what we normally do. We make a plan and discuss what’s going on.”
Du Toit stood up, commanded his troops to join him, then using a few expletives, challenged them by asking if they were actually scared. “You must decide for yourself. Are you going to f*cking stay or go? Play and get some excitement. And talk to each other. Everyone’s f*cking scared! If you’re afraid, say so. We’ll make a f*cking plan.”
That talk lifted the energy, and the Boks went on to edge out England to reach the final, where he too had a massive impact.
Pieter-Steph du Toit was taking names in the #RWCFinal 🥵
Here are some of the best of his 28 tackles#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/tywczIi2Mn
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) November 1, 2023
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“It wasn’t planned, it was just something that came up, and [I] said stuff.
“Ja, I don’t really talk that much. I’m a strong believer in ‘actions speak louder than words’. The way you perform on the field or the way you live your life must tell your story – ‘okay, these are the morals of this guy’. And if you can do that, nothing has to be said.
“You can see everyone standing there, like even Jacques [Nienaber] was… I don’t think anyone… We were so shocked at what was going on. We were experiencing our game plan forced on us, and we couldn’t handle it.
“And you just look around and everyone is sitting down. No one is talking. There’s no energy and no vibe, and that’s what we’re about. We have to come together and create a vibe, create energy, and go on to the next job. That’s always our motto, ‘focus on the next job’.
“Rassie of course, the next day, we had a meeting. And he just showed it on the projector and he said, ‘This guy understands’. And I’m very grateful for that.
The full 40-minute chat with Jim Hamilton is now exclusively on RugbyPass TV. You can also binge watch Chasing the Sun now, with Chasing the Sun 2 available from August 1st.
Boks are lucky to have a player of the calibre of PSDT in their ranks😍
PSTD, I salute you.
One of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
The real deal.
PSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
Du Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..