'I've tried to be loyal': Bok prop facing the end of a big chapter
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok prop Thomas du Toit says his impending departure from the Sharks is starting to “sink in”.
The 27-year-old has been with the Durban side since 2014 after joining from Western Province’s youth structures and he has developed into a veteran and leader at the Sharks.
He will be heading to England to join Premiership club Bath later this year once his commitments with Sharks and the Springboks are over and he is starting to experience a flood of emotions.
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“Last week I realised it is a decade coming to an end,” said Du Toit.
“I have really tried to be loyal for the amount of time that I have been here. It’s definitely sinking in.
“It’s definitely emotional.
“On the one hand, it’s hurting a little bit leaving, but on the other side, it is exciting.
“You are a bit naive if you don’t think about it and you don’t work through those emotions.
“It’s something I have been processing for the last two weeks or so.
“My job is a rugby player, so I need to play good rugby and I want to leave this union on a very big high.
“It’s a scenario now of leaving the jersey in a better state than when you got it.
“It’s a thing that we always speak about, but now it’s reality and now it needs to happen from my side.”
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A tense finish
Some of Du Toit’s goals include helping the Sharks get as far as possible in this season’s URC as well as trying to secure qualification for next season’s Champions Cup.
The Sharks are currently eighth in the standings, but they will need to finish in the top seven to book their spot amongst Europe’s elite.
A win against Munster in the final round is a must, while they will also need the Bulls (seventh) or Connacht (sixth) to fall short in their matches against Leinster and Glasgow over the weekend.
“We want to end in the top seven or as high as we possibly can,” the Bok prop explained. “We are not looking further than what we need to create inside of our own team.”
“We are not looking at the other games in terms of who is winning and who is losing. We are just focussing on us and the number of points that we are going to get.
“We’re focussing on a win first and foremost and then hopefully we can get a bonus point.”
The last time the Sharks played Munster was just a few weeks ago in a Champions Cup Round of 16 clash in Durban with the hosts recording a 50-35 win.
However, Du Toit is expecting a different beast at Kings Park this weekend.
“They are going to be better prepared. I think they had some tough conversations within their own camp and they are not going to be the same side.
“They played an unbelievable game against the Stormers last week and I think we are going to see more of that.
“I think the coach made it clear about the points they needed to work on, especially after our game and they got it right in the Stormers game.
“It’s definitely a different ball game. We not expecting 50 points, but if it comes we will definitely take it.”
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