Pieter-Steph du Toit is reportedly keen to return to South Africa next year. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images
Former World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit looks set to be back playing on South African shores in the next year.
That’s according to a weekend story in Rapport.
Du Toit currently plays for Toyota Verblitz in Japan, the club he joined following the Boks’ winning of the World Cup in Japan in 2019.
His contract runs until the end of the league season in Japan in 2023, and according to the report, Du Toit could be back in South Africa sometime around May next year. It seems the flanker isn’t interested in renewing his contract with the Japanese club.
Du Toit previously played for the Stormers and Western Province and before that the Sharks.
It would be interesting to see who the No 7 teamed up with on his return to South Africa – the Stormers or the Sharks, both former teams of his, or a new team like the Bulls or Lions.
Springbok team-mate Eben Etzebeth just last week announced his joining of the Sharks, following a move from Toulon in France and the national team friends could see them playing together alongside fellow World Cup stars Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and up and comer Aphelele Fassi.
Du Toit though could also return to the Cape, where his family live, and rejoin the Stormers, who are also believed to be trying to sign another World Cup winning star in lock Lood de Jager.
Du Toit, along with Etzebeth, De Jager and Kolisi, and several other 2019 Rugby World Cup stars, are set to be part of the Bok team again next year as the Springboks look to defend their World Cup crown in France.