/ 6 February 2017

Joost van der Westhuizen dies, aged 45

Joost Van der Westhuizen scored 38 Test tries in 89 appearances for the Springboks.
Joost Van der Westhuizen scored 38 Test tries in 89 appearances for the Springboks.

Former Springboks scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen (45) has died after a long battle with motor neuron disease.

News24 reported that Blue Bulls chief executive Barend van Graan confirmed that van der Westhuizen had passed away.

“If there’s one thing we can learn from Joost it was his passion for life. That we will never forget,” van Graan said.

Concern mounted over van der Westhuizen’s health after he was rushed to hospital in critical condition on Saturday.

“He was taken to hospital earlier today and is in a critical condition,” his J9 Foundation said in a statement on Facebook at the time.

The incurable disease which damages parts of the nervous system left van der Westhuizen confined to a wheelchair and he was given two to five years to live when he was diagnosed.

“I realise every day could be my last,” he told the BBC in 2013.

Van der Westhuizen scored 38 Test tries in 89 appearances in the green and gold by the time he retired in 2003.

The iconic rugby player set up the J9 Foundation to promote awareness around motor neuron disease.

He died on Monday afternoon. – Additional reporting by AFP