Joost van der Westhuizen: Everything you need to know about the Springboks legend

Lawrence Nolan
Add as a preferred source on Google
Joost van der Westhuizen for Springboks

The most instinctive scrum-half the game has ever had, bar none. Joost van der Westhuizen redefined what it meant for a scrum-half to be an attacking weapon, while also sticking out for his physicality and work-rate.

At 1m 87cm and 89kg he was larger than the average scrum-half, yet his speed of thought and searing pace meant that he was often a yard ahead of his opponents before they even knew he was running.

The fulcrum of the team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup – his ball-and-all tackle of a full-flight Jonah Lomu in the final is perhaps his career-defining moment – no other scrum-half has quite managed to create such an inimitable presence and playing style since.

Player background

Born in Pretoria, his athletic abilities at the F.H. Odendaal High School were obvious and by the time he had graduated from Pretoria University, he had already broken into the Junior Springbok side as well as won his first games for the Blue Bulls. He graduated with a degree in commerce and then set about making rugby his life.

Club career

Van der Westhuizen spent his entire career at Loftus Versfeld with the Blue Bulls and Bulls in Super Rugby, having started there in 1993 and then became one of the first players contracted there from 1995. He captained them later in his career, leading the team to the Currie Cup in 1998 and 2002.

The only time he even considered a move was when Bath might have offered a way out during a tempestuous tabloid affair in South Africa. But it never came to pass and Van der Westhuizen remained true to his home union until retirement.

International career

A try on debut in a match against Argentina in 1993 was a taste of things to come, but his big break came in 1994 when Springbok incumbent Johan Roux was injured ahead of the November Tests. Van der Westhuizen grabbed the chance with both hands. Two tries at Murrayfield cemented his reputation and he became the number one number nine from then on, never looking back.

His performances at the Rugby World Cup in 1995 were a key element of South Africa’s triumph, as was his play that earned the Springboks their first Tri-Nations title in 1998. The following year he captained the national team for the first time.

He set many records too: by the time he retired from rugby in 1993 he had amassed 89 caps, then a record for the Springboks, while he was also the first South African player to appear in three World Cups. He also was the record try-scorer with 38 tries, a record eventually beaten by Bryan Habana.

He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.

Personal life

Van der Westhuizen often caused controversy, both with a cold manner and his criticism of South Africa’s government. He was also embroiled in an ugly tabloid episode where he was revealed to have been cheating on his second wife, on video and snorting what was believed to be cocaine. The scandal cost him both his marriage and his job as a TV pundit.

A suspected heart attack in 2009 brought his life into focus though, and the subsequent devastating diagnosis of motor neurone disease saw him reconciled with his wife and family as well as being extraordinarily active in both charity work and medical research. He passed away aged just 45 in 2017.

Net worth

No information.

READ MORE: George Gregan: Everything you need to know about the Wallabies legend

Features