Pieter-Steph 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, while the Springbok utility forward and six of his national team-mates were included in the World Rugby Men's 15s Dream Team for 2024 at the glittering awards ceremony in Monaco on Sunday evening.
Having flown back from South Africa late Saturday to attend Sunday’s awards ceremony, Du Toit said he was grateful to be part of a wonderful Bok team coached by the best in the business.
"We have a saying at Springboks, we don't count our days, we make our days count"
"It is something that I'm trying to live life by. Just trying to give my best every time I'm put on the Springboks jersey and every other jersey that I play in. You never know when it's your last game."
"It's wonderful to be a part of the Springboks and to get the recognition, but it is a team sport. You can not do it without your teammates."
"Just to be in the Springbok team, is a huge honour and a privilege, and to have the guys around it is unbelievable."
"To have my teammates here, it's just an honour to be here. To be nominated with those guys, to see what records Ebenezer broke and to see the talent Cheslin has, just to be named with those guys is a huge honour and a privilege, and I'm just grateful, and it's definitely just a blessing from the skies."