Rugby World Cup 2019: Du Toit and Erasmus land World Rugby awards

Pieter-Steph du Toit has won World Rugby’s Player of the Year award and Rassie Erasmus took the Coach of the Year accolade, a day after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup.

Du Toit played a huge part in the Springboks becoming the first team to win the Rugby Championship and lift the Webb Ellis Cup in the same year.

The lock was presented with the gong on Sunday after being shortlisted along with team-mate Cheslin Kolbe, England flanker Tom Curry, Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, New Zealand flanker Ardie Savea and United States hooker Joe Taufete’e.

Erasmus was named the best coach in the world after working wonders in a short space of time for the newly-crowned world champions, having only taken over in March 2018.

Rassie Erasmus accepts World Rugby Coach of the Year at the #WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/yHOop6kX2O

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 3, 2019

Former Springbok player Erasmus said: “As everybody knows I’m finishing up as head coach. I will definitely be involved as director of rugby. We are all trying to be like the All Blacks, we all know what New Zealand has done over the last 12 years – they have set the bar right up there.

“We have enjoyed the last 24 hours and we are going to enjoy the next two weeks and then start working and try to be like New Zealand, be consistent and stay number one or two in the world.”

South Africa inevitably claimed the World Rugby Team of the Year award after matching the All Blacks’ tally of three World Cup triumphs.

England centre Emily Scarratt received the women’s World Player of the Year award at the ceremony in Tokyo.

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