Jacques Nienaber sang the praises of the ‘phenomenal’ Pieter-Steph du Toit after his man-of-the-match performance in the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup triumph.

Du Toit put in an immense shift with no fewer than 28 completed tackles as the Springboks put bodies on the line to successfully defend a one-point lead against the All Blacks in the final last night.

Also read: Cane-less Kiwis no match for Bok mongrels

Pieter-Steph du Toit 👏🤯

2️⃣8️⃣ Tackles
1️⃣ Turnover won.
8️⃣8️⃣% Tackle Success.

A colossal performance in the biggest match of his career 🌟#StrongerTogether 🇿🇦 | #RWCFinal pic.twitter.com/jkQvgwV7Dm

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 28, 2023

“He was phenomenal. Defence is my department and he was exceptional,” Nienaber said.

“I must say in the last couple of games, he wanted it desperately. 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.”

An evening he will never forget

Pieter-Steph du Toit is the @Mastercard #POTM #RWC2023 | #RWCFinal pic.twitter.com/wc0OB9kz66

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 28, 2023

🧱 Pieter-Steph du Toit made 2️⃣8️⃣ tackles in the #RWCFinal ! 🇿🇦 #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/5DbYtMeEao

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) October 29, 2023

Du Toit is one of a plethora of Springboks who claimed their second successive world cup gold medal.

“I guess as a team we like drama,” the Bok flanker said in the aftermath of the final.

“We have had drama for the last few years. It helped us a lot as a team to get through the drama and cope with it and it shows the resilience of the team and the whole of South Africa.”