'Pieter, do what's best for you'
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Stormers coach John Dobson has addressed the latest Pieter-Steph du Toit transfer rumours.
According to numerous South African media reports, the World Rugby Player of the Year, Du Toit, is on the verge of signing a two-year deal with Japanese Top League side Verblitz.
The latest transfer report comes as no surprise, as the Springbok star was linked with a number of clubs in both the Top 14 and Premiership in 2020.
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However, those rumours were squashed in May last year when Du Toit signed a new deal with Western Province – amid the COVID-enforced pay cuts and SA Rugby’s unique transfer law which allowed players to cancel local contracts in favour of overseas deals.
Du Toit’s current contract with the Stormers runs till the end of October.
However, unlike last year it seems that this time the union will not stand in his way.
“In terms of Pieter-Steph, we do not have anything official,” Dobson told reporters during a virtual press conference.
“People need to understand that when it comes to Japan, the money is very different from if he was going to a local franchise. Japan is always going to be a lucrative option.
“There are other constructions around the Japanese offer.
“It may be something like a sabbatical, as is the case of JD Schickerling.
‘However, we haven’t had that conversation with Pieter-Steph yet, because there is nothing official.
“If he does get blown away by the Yen, then we will obviously be looking at some loose forwards. We have some ideas, but we will have to wait until the window [for negotiations] opens in May.
“For now, he is with us until the end of October this year,”
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With the World Cup winner solely focussed on recovering from a serious thigh injury – which required multiple surgeries and threatened to prematurely end his career – the Stormers have been very thoughtful of not pushing with the contract extension.
“We started talking to Pieter about him staying on here for a couple of years and then we pushed pause on it because it was such a traumatic injury.
Dobson explained: “The stats are of the 45 of that exact form of compartment syndrome, there have been 22 amputations. So you are looking at a 50 percent chance of amputation.
“I think people often forget about the human and a humane side which was that there was a chance this guy could have had an amputation and wouldn’t have even been able to play with his kids in the garden.
He added: “While the nerve damage meant there were structural weaknesses which could mean more surgeries and that’s why we pushed pause and said to Pieter: ‘Do what’s best for you’
“And maybe Japanese rugby is not a bad option.
“The injury carried a lot of trauma and affected him quite a lot,”
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The good news is that Stormers expect Du Toit to be fit for the Rainbow Cup, scheduled to start in April.
“Pieter will be back on the field soon,” Dobson said.
“We were hoping next week, but that’s not going to happen because of his broken nose.
“However, he will be very important during the Rainbow Cup and we are looking forward to doing well in that competition at full strength
He added: “Pieter is a freak of nature as an athlete and could be back and dominating the Rainbow Cup in a few week’s time,”
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