JOOST VAN DER WESTHUIZEN (Blue Bulls and South Africa)
Died February 6 aged 45
One of the best scrumhalves the game has seen and one of the great Springboks in that nation’s illustrious rugby history, van der Westhuizen finally lost his six year fight with motor neurone disease, a horrid illness that he fought with great courage and tenacity.
Van der Westhuizen had originally noticed some muscle weakness in his left arm in 2008 and was diagnosed with MND in 2011 after which he devoted his final years to his young family and fundraising for his J9 charity to assist research into the ...