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Springbok Legend Joost Van Der Westhuizen's Greatest Moments

The Life Of Rugby Legend Joost Van Der Westhuizen, Dead At 45
Reuters

Joost van der Westhuizen, legendary Springbok and Blue Bulls rugby player, died on Monday after suffering through a six-year battle with motor neuron disease. Widely regarded as one of the best scrumhalves to play rugby, Van der Westhuizen held 89 caps for the national team. He retired from the game in 2003 as the country's then-record cap holder.

1. Eight months before South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Springbok rugby was in shambles. But on the 1994 end-of-year tour to Europe, Van der Westhuizen announced himself on the world stage. Here are some of his tries on that tour, including a beauty versus Scotland.

2. This clip isn't a try, but is was a tackle that reverberated around the rugby world. Jonah Lomu was the rampaging, 120kg winger for New Zealand's All Blacks, destroying anyone and everyone in front of him ... until he came face to face with a plucky scrummie from Pretoria ...

3. Van der Westhuizen was at the peak of his powers after the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He was as physical as a flanker and had tactical genius to boot. He destroyed Wales on his own on the 1996 tour of Europe.

4. The Boks were dead and buried with 15 minutes to go against the All Blacks at King's Park in Durban, trailing 22-6. Then Joost dumied and sped away from the clutches of All Black captain Taine Randell, launching one of the great fightbacks in the history of test rugby.

5. England, the Wallabies, the All Blacks and the British Lions . . . all of them suffered under Joost, the scrummie that never gave up.

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