The first of the new age scrum halves he lighted the way for a new scrum-half and lighted our hearts at the same time.
We have all heard by now the devastating news about Joost. The moment we all feared when we heard in 2011 about his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) or ALS for our friends across the pond.
MND is terrible for anyone who suffers from it, not least the individual but also those nearest and dearest to that person. It must have been 100 times worse for Joost. The tenacity, intensity, physicality and fleet of footedness the man had whilst wearing the jersey of the Springboks and Blue Bulls will live on in the memory of everyone that played against/with/watched him.
Regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in history, he won the World Cup with the Springboks in 1995, captained them for four years including at the 1999 RWC, won 89 international caps (although including non-test appearances this rises to 111) between 1993 and 2003, scoring 38 tries before retiring in 2003. Impressive.
He was admitted to hospital in Johannesburgh on Saturday, when he was said to be in a “critical condition.” There were brief hopes he would pull through on Sunday; however, the fateful news came through at lunchtime on Monday. Joost had gone.
“Joost will be remembered as one of the greatest Springboks – not only of his generation, but of all time,” said South Africa Rugby president Mark Alexander.
“He also became an inspiration and hero to many fellow sufferers of this terrible disease as well as to those unaffected.
“We all marvelled at his bravery, his fortitude and his uncomplaining acceptance of this terrible burden.”
‘The best nine I played against’
Interim Wales coach Rob Howley said he was “devastated” by his fellow former scrum-half’s death.
Howley said: “He was a fantastic rugby player and for me was the best nine I played against.
“He was a world-class nine who was respected throughout the rugby world.
“I have been fortunate enough to play against him and enjoy his company off the pitch and it is tragic he has passed so young.”
‘Aboslutely outstanding’
Eddie Jones, current England supremo who coached against Joost during his time in Super Rugby, also paid tribute to his former opponent.
“He was an absolutely outstanding player, a very good long-passer with a great kicking game, a terrific defender and a guy who really influenced the players,” he told BBC Sport.
“Having coached against him when he played for the Bulls, they were a completely different team with him playing and he will be sorely missed.
“You had to be very tight around the ruck when you played against him because he was a great sniper. He was such a big guy who had good pace and was difficult to defend against.
“It is so sad to hear of his death. You feel for his family and supporters of South African rugby.”
The tackle
The 1995 World Cup was characterised by the stepping onto the stage of a certain Jonah Lomu.
Lomu had torn defences apart during the tournament. Former South Africa captain Jean de Villiers told BBC Radio 5 live: “What he achieved on the rugby field was unbelievable.”
De Villiers remembers Van der Westhuizen’s tackle on the New Zealand great, who died at the age of 40 in November 2015, in the 1995 RWC final as an “iconic moment in the game”.
“The sad thing is that neither of them are with us any more,” he added.
“Joost’s tackle on Jonah that day – a front on tackle on the guy that was destroying every team in the world. Here comes a scrum-half, someone who is not meant to put in tackles like that, and tackles him front on.
“The team as a whole got so much inspiration from him for doing that. For us as a country it became an iconic day and it changed the way that we were viewed forever.”
‘Rest easy’
Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson has paid a wonderful tribute to his friend and I urge anyone reading this to go and read his article HERE. Thanks for that Matt.
Dawson put it simply on Twitter, “A great friend has left us with an incredible legacy in rugby. Joost inspired on and off the field. Rest easy blue eye…”
My memories
My memories of Joost came late in his career but I remember that tackle in 1995. I was in Lossiemouth in the North East of Scotland, I had watched Lomu run over England in the semi-final (almost every single England player it seemed at the time!) and was thinking “oh god he doesn’t stand a chance,” then Lomu went down.
It sounds cliched but it’s that tackle and the Lions series in 1997 I’ll remember him for. Such a wonderful player.
It’s also his legacy since 2011 that will leave an everlasting mark on people’s lives. Joost set up the J9 Foundation in the wake of his diagnosis and I’d encourage everyone to go and check out the work of this fine organisation. The link for J9 in the UK is HERE.
My mission now, dig out my old Springbok Castle Lager rugby shirt, grab a Castle from somewhere, put the shirt on and toast another rugby player taken from us way too soon.
Rest in Peace Joost.
Mike
Revo Rugby - Grow the Game! 