Next Tuesday will officially mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 World Cup final, a match in which Joost van der Westhuizen pulled off one of the all-time great tackles on All Blacks superstar Jonah Lomu.
That was just one special moment in a career littered with heroic acts from Van der Westhuizen, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest Springboks to have ever donned the green and gold.
Tragically, Joost is one of five Springbok players from that RWC final who has passed away.
In the second part of this remembrance series, we look back at the career of the legendary scrumhalf.
You can find part one here
Joost van der Westhuizen: Gone but never forgotten
Van der Westhuizen added a Tri-Nations and two Currie Cup titles to his honours roll in a career that lasted eight years beyond the 1995 World Cup. He went on to represent the Boks at the 1999 and 2003 World Cups before retiring as the then most-capped Springbok.
Capped 89 times for the Springboks Joost became the country’s first choice scrumhalf in the mid-to-late nineties to early 2000s retiring a rugby legend with a career test try tally of 38 earning him the record of being the scrum-half with the most tries in Test Rugby.
Inducted in the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 he represented South Africa in three Rugby World Cups in 1995, 1999 and 2003. Of course one of his most iconic moments came during the famous 1995 triumph when he completed an incredible tackle on Lomu.
He is also the only Springbok to captain his country in both the Sevens and the 15-man games in World Cups.
After retirement, stints in front of the cameras at SuperSport followed briefly before he moved into other avenues of business.
Van der Westhuizen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2011, an illness he fought until he passed away at the age of 45 in 2017. The J9 Foundation, founded in 2012, assists other MND sufferers, and Van der Westhuizen’s family remains actively involved with this charity.
*Keep an eye on TheSouthAfrican as the four remaining articles in this remembrance content series will be published over the next few days
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM HIS CAREER?
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