Post by Soutpeel on Feb 6, 2017 20:19:08 GMT 7
Joost van der Westhuizen, South Africa rugby great, dies aged 45
Joost van der Westhuizen, the South African rugby World Cup winner, has died aged 45. The former scrum-half had been living with motor neurone disease since 2011 and was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital on Saturday morning.
The J9 Foundation, the charity founded by Van der Westhuizen in 2012, confirmed that he had died at home, saying in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Joost. He passed away in his home surrounded by his loved ones. He will be sorely missed.”
South Africa Rugby paid tribute to a player they described as “one of South Africa’s greatest-ever Springbok legends”. Van der Westhuizen is regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in the history of the game, having won 89 caps between 1993 and 2003. Only Bryan Habana (66) has more than his 38 Test tries for the Springboks, and he was a key member of the team that secured an iconic triumph in the 1995 World Cup on home soil.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/06/joost-van-der-westhuizen-south-africa-rugby-great-dies
Joost van der Westhuizen, the South African rugby World Cup winner, has died aged 45. The former scrum-half had been living with motor neurone disease since 2011 and was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital on Saturday morning.
The J9 Foundation, the charity founded by Van der Westhuizen in 2012, confirmed that he had died at home, saying in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Joost. He passed away in his home surrounded by his loved ones. He will be sorely missed.”
South Africa Rugby paid tribute to a player they described as “one of South Africa’s greatest-ever Springbok legends”. Van der Westhuizen is regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in the history of the game, having won 89 caps between 1993 and 2003. Only Bryan Habana (66) has more than his 38 Test tries for the Springboks, and he was a key member of the team that secured an iconic triumph in the 1995 World Cup on home soil.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/06/joost-van-der-westhuizen-south-africa-rugby-great-dies
