Super Rugby: Stormers ponder Pieter-Steph’s slump

To illustrate the slump Springboks lock Pieter-Steph du Toit finds himself in, you only need to look at his stats last week for the Stormers against the lowly Sunwolves.

He missed seven of his 15 tackles, conceded a turnover and knocked on four times.

And this game wasn’t an exception.

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Du Toit has missed the most tackles in 2017’s Super Rugby campaign, conceded the fifth-most penalties, the eighth-most turnovers and has suffered bouts of butterfingers.

It’s hardly the type of situation Springboks coach Allister Coetzee needs before the Rugby Championship.

There might be depth at national level but it’s fragile.

However, Stormers mentor Robbie Fleck isn’t panicking as the Capetonians head into the playoffs.

“Obviously, Pieter-Steph is a big Springbok for us. One thing we can’t fault is his work ethic,” he said ahead of Saturday’s meeting with the Bulls at Loftus.

“When a player is involved in so many aspects of the game, he is going to be seen. He stands out. Yes, he made mistakes, but so did everybody else in that game.”

Indeed, the majority of the Stormers line-up weren’t at their best despite the 52-15 scoreline.

“He was one of many players who had an off day, but one thing about him he is everywhere and he is working incredibly hard. In a game like that, yes, he made a few mistakes. But it was because he was always around the ball and he was always making an effort,” said Fleck.

The team’s brains trust won’t be doing anything radical to help Du Toit regain his form.

To be honest, they’re pretty much banking on the old adage that form is temporary but class permanent.

“From our perspective, we just got to keep encouraging him. He wants to perform well,” said Fleck.

We are pretty happy with him. There are certain things that he is working hard on in his game. I will rather have someone like that making mistakes than someone not doing anything at all.”

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