Farewell to a fleet-footed Bok battler
Van der Westhuizen changed the scrumhalf rules
Joost van der Westhuizen succumbed to an illness that was slow and debilitating, and brought an early end to the life of a South African rugby superstar — the sniper-sharp, Mercury-footed, iron-clad-shoulder hero on one glorious day that made the world smile down on a new and fragile democracy. It is said that New Zealand rugby coaches use a picture of Van der Westhuizen bringing down All Black Jonah Lomu giant during the 1995 Rugby World Cup final as a textbook example of the art of tackling. When the two met during Lomu’s visit to SA in 2015, Van der Westhuizen — then confined to a wheelchair, his body withered by the motor neuron disease (MND) he had been diagnosed with in 2011 — said Lomu had brought the best out of him. Lomu died not long after their meeting after a long fight with a kidney disorder. Both of them brought out the best on June 24 1995. "I saw the gap open up and saw Lomu come through," said Van der Westhuizen. "I just knew in that split second that either my name...
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