Joost van der Westhuizen

Joost van der Westhuizen is, to me, the platonic ideal of a scrum-half: 89 caps, 38 tries, and a body that played far bigger than its position usually demands. Being part of the 1995 World Cup-winning Springboks ties him forever to one of sport's great unifying moments. But what stays with me is the second act. His battle with motor neurone disease, fought openly until his death at 45, turned a rugby legend into something larger, a symbol of dignity under impossible odds. The Hall of Fame honored the player; I respect the man who kept fighting after the whistle.

Name (English)

Joost van der Westhuizen

Name (Japanese)

ユースト・ファン・デル・ヴェストハイゼン

Reading

ゆーすと・ふぁん・でる・ゔぇすとはいぜん

Born

February 20, 1971 – February 6, 2017

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Boar

Origin

Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Height

185 cm

Occupation

rugby union player

University

University of Pretoria

Awards & achievements

• 2015 World Rugby Hall of Fame

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://joost.co.za/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A6%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%87%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A7%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3

Tags

• Gauteng
• rugby union player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.