File of former South Africa captain Joost van der Westhuizen following his death on Monday (6th February) at the age of 45.
SCRIPTING INFORMATION:
South African rugby star Joost van der Westhuizen died on Monday (6th February) from motor neurone disease at the age of 45.
The scrum-half was born in Pretoria in February 1971 and spent his entire senior career at the Blue Bulls between 1993 and 2003.
He captained them to the Currie Cup crown in 1998 and 2002, and also starred for the Bulls on the Super Rugby stage.
But it is playing in the green and gold of the Springboks that he will be best remembered.
Van der Westhuizen made his international debut in 1993, a year after the Springboks were re-admitted to the international arena after the end of apartheid rule.
In 1995 South Africa won the rugby World Cup in their home country with Van der Westhuizen playing a pivotal role in stopping New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu.
Van der Westhuizen's continued excellence and leadership saw him named captain for South Africa's 1999 World Cup defence, but the Springboks suffered heartbreak in a semi-final defeat to Australia.
By the time of his third World Cup in 2003 he was past his best, and South Africa were thrashed 29-9 by New Zealand at the quarter-final stage.
It was his 89th and final Test appearance, a Springboks record at the time.
He had also scored 38 Test tries, which stood as a South Africa record until Bryan Habana beat the mark at the 2011 World Cup.
Van der Westhuizen became a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame when the International Hall was merged with the IRB Hall of Fame in 2014.
By then, Van der Westhuizen had been confined to a wheelchair after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2011.
