WATCH: All 28 of Pieter-Steph du Toit’s tackles in the World Cup final
South Africa's Pieter-Steph du Toit tackles New Zealand's Jordie Barrett during the Rugby World Cup final match between the All Blacks and Springboks.
Pieter-Steph du Toit produced a mind-blowing player-of-the-match performance in the Rugby World Cup final as the Springboks emerged victorious.
Renowned for his incredible work rate, Du Toit delivered when it mattered for the Boks, as his 28 tackles proved pivotal in the 12-11 victory over the All Blacks.
Pieter-Steph du Toit’s record-breaking performance
He became the fourth player to make 28 tackles in a World Cup fixture, with France’s Thierry Dusautoir setting the record back in 2007 against New Zealand.
Taulupe Faletau (in 2011) and Jonny Gray (in 2019) have since equalled that tally, with Du Toit following suit, but none have been able to surpass the Frenchman’s benchmark.
Du Toit did, however, beat Richie McCaw’s record for the most tackles in a World Cup final, comfortably bettering the former All Blacks captain’s tally of 18.
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber hailed his flanker’s efforts after the match.
“He was phenomenal. Defence is my department, and he was exceptional. I must say in the last couple of games, he wanted it desperately,” Nienaber said.
“Not only him, but everyone wanted it desperately. He put himself in the right positions. I always joke that if there’s a white plastic bag that blows over the field, he would probably chase that down as well. ‘The Malmesbury Missile’, he was like a machine.”
In 2019, Du Toit clearly targeted England’s George Ford during the final, landing several thumping hits on the fly half throughout the match.
This time around, Jordie Barrett was his target, hitting the All Blacks centre seven times during the match.
It wasn’t just the backs that Du Toit targetted as he managed to land four tackles on Ardie Savea and three each on Brodie Retallick, Shannon Frizzell, Rieko Ioane and Scott Barrett.
He tackled fly-half Richie Mo’unga, wingers Will Jordan and Mark Telea, props Ethan de Groot and Nepo Laulala, and hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho once each.
Springboks defend their title
It was a massive defensive effort all around for the Boks, with 37-year-old replacement hooker Deon Fourie also beating McCaw’s record of 18 tackles in a final.
After replacing the injured Bongi Mbonambi in the early stages of the final, Fourie racked up an incredible 20 tackles.
Meanwhile, Franco Mostert added 16 in his 51-minute shift, taking his tally in the knockout stages alone to 49 without missing once.
In total, South Africa made 209 tackles in final, the most ever by a team in a men’s Rugby World Cup final, overtaking the 158 they made against England in 2019.
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