Hannes Strydom is the fifth player from 1995 World Cup winning team to die
20 November 2023 - 16:35
by Nick Said
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Former rugby star Hannes Strydom of South Africa has died at the age of 58. Picture: GETTY IMAGES
Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom has died in a car crash, SA Rugby confirmed on Monday, the fifth player from their victorious 1995 World Cup team to die.
Strydom, 58, was a pharmacist by trade and played 21 Tests from 1993-97. He started the 1995 final in which SA defeated New Zealand 15-12 to take the crown in front of a beaming Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park.
“He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said. “To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in SA.”
Kitch Christie, who coached the team to their title win, died from cancer in 1998, as did flanker Ruben Kruger in 2010.
Scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen succumbed to motor neurone disease in 2017, and wings Chester Williams and James Small suffered fatal heart attacks in 2019.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Former Springbok lock Strydom dies in car crash
Hannes Strydom is the fifth player from 1995 World Cup winning team to die
Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom has died in a car crash, SA Rugby confirmed on Monday, the fifth player from their victorious 1995 World Cup team to die.
Strydom, 58, was a pharmacist by trade and played 21 Tests from 1993-97. He started the 1995 final in which SA defeated New Zealand 15-12 to take the crown in front of a beaming Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park.
“He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said. “To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in SA.”
Kitch Christie, who coached the team to their title win, died from cancer in 1998, as did flanker Ruben Kruger in 2010.
Scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen succumbed to motor neurone disease in 2017, and wings Chester Williams and James Small suffered fatal heart attacks in 2019.
Reuters
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