Pieter-Steph the ray of light in dark times for the Stormers

The Stormers overall had a pretty depressing day at the office after slumping to a 31-52 Super Rugby derby loss to the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Robbie Fleck’s charges now languish in 11th position on the overall log and desperately need a revival in fortunes.

One ray of light though is Pieter-Steph du Toit, who continues to deliver performances of the highest calibre.

The versatile Springbok lock was at his rampaging best as a No 7 in the weekend’s match – carrying the ball 19 times, beating 10 defenders and even slipping clean through twice.

As the rest of his teammates flailed and missed the Lions attackers, Du Toit completed 11 tackles and even made a turnover.

It was a pity he was surrounded by such mediocrity.

“He was exceptionally good. Whether he plays at 7 or 5, I thought he played his part,” raved Fleck.

“He was certainly outstanding and if we had won it, he would have landed up with the Man-of-the -Match award. But credit to the Lions winger Madosh Tambwe, who also deserved it.”

Fleck’s counterpart, Swys de Bruin, also derived much pleasure from Du Toit’s showing, especially his tussle with Lions skipper Franco Mostert, who has also played as a blindside flanker at times this season.

“We played against a strong Stormers side. Just look how a guy like Pieter-Steph played,” said De Bruin.

“It was a wonderful battle between him and Sous (Mostert) all night. I loved it. I love watching how local rivals tear into each other and try not to give an inch away.”

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