WATCH: The ultimate Pieter-Steph du Toit highlights package
Although the World Rugby awards did lead to some questionable decisions – such as the Rassie Erasmus snub for Coach of the Year – no one could argue with the accolade handed out to South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The Springbok flanker won the 15s Player of the Year for the second time, having also been named World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year in 2019, and he joins a very select group of players that have won this Award more than once in All Blacks Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Beauden Barrett.
Seeing off stiff competition from teammates Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth and Ireland’s Caelan Doris, he capped off another incredible year with World Rugby’s most coveted award.
SuperSport have since posted a highlights package that certainly showcases the impact of Du Toit, who is aptly nicknamed the ‘Malmesbury Missile’.
Pieter-Steph du Toit was on fire in 2024
Meanwhile, England’s Ellie Kildunne were named Women’s 15s Player of the Year. She claimed the coveted prize for the first time after playing a key role in the Red Roses’ perfect 2024 campaign that saw them win all 10 matches played and secure the Women’s Six Nations and WXV 1 titles.
In a year that saw rugby sevens’ coming of age at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and first SVNS Grand Final in Madrid, Australia’s Maddison Levi and France’s Antoine Dupont received the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year awards in partnership with HSBC for their performances and achievements on the pitch.
It is a case of third time lucky for Levi after her nominations in 2022 and 2023, and recognising her incredible year which saw the Australian set a new record for most tries in a single Olympic Games (14) after scoring 69 tries on the HSBC SVNS 2024, the second-highest figure in men’s or women’s series history.
The prolific finisher becomes the third Australian recipient after Emilee Cherry and Charlotte Caslick.
French star Dupont, who helped France win their first HSBC SVNS titles since 2007 in Los Angeles, Madrid as well as Olympic gold on home soil in Paris becomes the first male player in history to be named World Rugby Player of the Year in both sevens and 15s (2021 and 2024).
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