‘Final most important match of my life’
Prop Du Toit living his dream as Sharks get ready for Currie Cup
Sharks prop Thomas du Toit has said that Saturday’s Currie Cup final against Western Province will be the most important game of his life.
The 22-year-old tank of a front row forward will be taking part in his first Currie Cup final, which also happens to be against the province where he learnt his formative rugby.
Du Toit’s much-improved scrummaging has played a key role in the Sharks’ charge to the final.
“I can sum it up and say it’s the most important game of my life that I’m going to take part in this weekend. That’s the mentality we’re all going to go in with‚” Du Toit said.
“There’s nothing more important than your next game. That’s the way I’m going to prepare for this game and hopefully the rest of the team will have the same mindset.
“There’s a bit of nervous excitement going on in the camp. I’m super excited because playing Western Province is always special for me. It does not matter when I play against them. It’s always special. It’s going to be a cracker.”
Du Toit has a fair bit of reverence for the Western Province scrum‚ especially with the demolition job former athletics rival and current WP tight-head prop, Wilco Louw, performed on the Golden Lions pack.
The Sharks’ eight is not to be trifled with either and they had the better of John Dobson’s side despite the 31-20 home loss on October 14.
Du Toit is seen to be one of the heirs to Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira at loose-head prop. Throughout the Currie Cup he has displayed enough form to suggest Mtawarira could be used sparingly next season.
However‚ Du Toit faces stiff competition from Stormers loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff‚ who started the last Springboks’ Test against All Blacks in Cape Town on October 7.
“I’ve scrummed a few times against Wilco Louw and it’s nice to have a friend you can scrum against. We were close when we played together in the South African Under-20 side.
“The only thing I have to get him back for is the snoring in the hotel room. That’s going to be important for me‚” Du Toit added.