Joost van der westhuizen autobiography featuring

Although they finished runners-up to Fiji, his leadership was instrumental. His ability to combine tactical acumen with physicality made him a standout scrum-half. Joost van der Westhuizen first captained South Africa in That year, the Springboks secured third place in the Rugby World Cup. However, his career faced challenges, including a severe knee injury sustained during the tournament.

In Novembera young Van der Westhuizen made his debut for the Springboks against Argentina, and within two years he was a fixture in the team. He captained the Boks 10 times and scored 38 tries in 89 test matches. It is rare for a South African player to represent only one province, Van der Westhuizen played for one team only — the Blue Bulls of Pretoria.

Inalmost six years after retiring from the sport, all the good work that Van der Westhuizen did came close to destruction when a video with a blonde woman in a compromising position was leaked to the media. In the video he wore only underwear while sniffing white powder, believed to be cocaine. After denying it for some time, Van der Westhuizen manned up and admitted he was the man in the video.

But that could not salvage his marriage to his popstar wife, Amor Vittone, who wanted a divorce. Shortly after the devastating separation, the big-hearted Van der Westhuizen lost weight and was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in From then on he became a different champion, this time off the field. Van der Westhuizen dedicated his time to raising awareness about the disease.

This week, his brother Pieter van der Westhuizen released his book about Joost's life and describes it as: "The purpose of this book is to share the journey we undertook through all these challenges. My journey. He joined Rian and the team to chat about the new book and what life is like after the passing of his brother. World Cup matches [ edit ].

Awards and honours [ edit ]. Private life and controversy [ edit ]. Illness and death [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Retrieved 24 December The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February Retrieved 7 February Archived from the original on 11 February Retrieved 8 February SA Rugby. The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June The Daily Telegraph.

The Scotsman. The Herald. BBC News. The Irish Times. The New York Times. Cape Argus. Same old problem for Joost". Rugby World. South Africa". World Rugby.

Joost van der westhuizen autobiography featuring

Retrieved 11 January Irish Independent. BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February Retrieved 23 September ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 January Daily Maverick. Retrieved 16 February Maroela Media in Afrikaans. External links [ edit ].