It isn’t often that in a winning test match, the hero of the week goes to someone who makes all the tackles.
Especially when the Springboks scored three tries on the day.
But in a game which raised a lot of questions about the Bok approach and which they were, at the end, rather lucky to win, defence played a huge part in that victory.
And while some may have questioned his game, in the larger scheme of things, his undeniable defensive effort was something exceptional.
And that’s why he is our hero of the week.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, the former World Rugby Player of the year, has slowly stepped up his game over the past three tests and on Saturday hit peak form, making a massive 20 tackles in the game and spearheading a defensive performance that ultimately won the game for the Springboks.
Given that they had just 39 per cent possession, and very little in the second half, there were many heroic deeds. Malcolm Marx and Steven Kitshoff both produced beautiful jackals on their own line, but Du Toit was the engine that drove the Springboks forward.
While some may remember the odd penalty he gave away or the dropped ball in the first half, the passion he showed was a highlight of a performance where there were too few to be comfortable with.