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- Pieter-Steph du Toit is, rather ominously, showing the type of form that garnered him the World Rugby Player of the Year award in 2019.
- The Springbok stalwart has been typically energetic and influential in a national team struggling to find its rhythm in the build-up to the World Cup.
- Du Toit says he'd rather have the Boks make most of their on-field mistakes now and be in peak form for the showpiece tournament, where every game will be a "playoff".
Watch out world, his team might still be finding its rhythm but Pieter-Steph du Toit's is in full flow again.
The Springboks' World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019's World Cup-winning year has cut a revitalised figure over the past month, rekindling the energy and sheer relish for work on the field that makes him such a unique threat.
The 30-year-old beanpole blindsider is not a particularly elegant exponent and is prone to the odd handling error, sloppy pass and missed tackle in virtually every game he plays.
However, that's predominantly down to the fact that Du Toit simply doesn't operate at "normal" intensity - everything he does is at 120%.
Who really cares if he misses five tackles yet completes an astonishing, game-high 20 in the Boks' narrow 22-21 victory over Argentina here on Saturday night?
In fact, in just two-and-a-half outings, Du Toit was again South Africa's leading defender with 36 tackles and 22 carries for good measure too.
It's no wonder one might believe he's tired already.
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"Nah, it's really nice to be properly fit," Du Toit said with a chuckle after being asked - tongue-in-cheek of course - whether he's already gatvol of tackling.
"I really feel well conditioned since joining the national team in our pre-season of sorts. There's also much motivation to do so when you have world-class team-mates alongside you. You want to be at your best."
A productive season with former All Blacks World Cup-winning coach Steve Hansen's Toyota Verblitz in Japan, he believes, has given him the best of both worlds.
"Japan was good to me. In fact, I believe my conditioning has been complemented by both settings. I was in good shape over there and here I had to contend with the altitude of the Highveld again. It's about 400m higher, so you're definitely huffing and puffing a bit more, but we'll get there."
On a night where the Boks lost their grip to a plucky Los Pumas outfit, Du Toit shared the broad sentiment that South Africa were nowhere near their best though he believes Grant Williams' freak concussion sustained in the opening minute was a spanner in the works, even if it wasn't immediately apparent.
"It was a bit frustrating that we couldn't quite get going," he said.
"Naturally, I feel comfortable when that proverbial second breath kicks in and you can throw the ball a bit around and move a bit more freely, but that didn't quite happen in this match. I suppose Grant's freak accident also had a bit of an influence on how we eventually went about things.
"It broke the momentum very early, which is fine because the health and wellness of a player is more important than anything else. It's first priority."
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But he'd rather take the Boks making their mistakes now than in the showpiece in France and remaining on the right path in that regard.
"We're definitely on track. As a team, we made a step up from the previous game. The start against New Zealand wasn't good and we let ourselves down. Here was also a mixed bag, but you need to take the positives with the negatives," said Du Toit.
"We have to get better. The more mistakes we make now, the more we learn early enough. Of course, at some stage we have to stop making them and start scoring points and controlling games, but there's enough time.
"We're focusing on the right stuff. I'd rather have us make these mistakes now. The World Cup is a different beast, especially this year's tournament feels like a playoff from the outset. You have to win the right games. Someone told me the other day that you don't have to win all the games, just the right ones. I hope he's right!"
