Bok prop hailed as the best in the world by South African coach

The Bok behemoth produced a man-of-the-match performance despite only coming off the bench in the second half of Bath's 31-22 Champions Cup win over Saracens on Saturday. Saracens had been milking scrum penalties in the opening salvo and du Toit's introduction not only put an end to that, but reversed the trend altogether as penalties began to go the other way.

The prop, who has been used on both sides of the scrum by the English club, earned the praise of his coach after the Round of 16 victory.

"Thomas was fantastic in that second half," said van Graan.

"If you look at his two years and nine months that he's been at Bath, in my view, he's become one of the best players in the whole world of rugby, and he showed it again against Saracens.

"He was absolutely phenomenal in the scrum, in defence and attack. That's why you build a squad. You call on 20-50 guys on a weekend and all credit to the players."

Du Toit's performance was by no means a flash in the pan. He has been superlative since moving north, shoring up Bath's front row, racking up 25 tries since his first season in 2023. Du Toit also got his hands on meaningful silverware as well - the Challenge Cup and the Premireship trophy - in the 2024/2025 season.

His form translated to time in the green and gold as well, with du Toit featuring in all but one of the Springboks' 2025 Rugby Championship fixtures.

And being 30-years-old, du Toit is just getting into the groove for a prop. South African's can look forward to seeing a lot more of 'The Tank' as he bids adieu to Bath at the end of this season and moves back home to his beloved Sharks, where his professional rugby journey began in 2013.