Joost van der Westhuizen
Joost van der Westhuizen (20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017) was a South African former rugby union player. He played as a scrum-half for the national team. He played in the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
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| Full name | Joost van der Westhuizen Heystek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 20 February 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 6 February 2017 (aged 45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 88 kg (13 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hoërskool F.H. Odendaal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Pretoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Amore Vittone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On 12 May 2011, van der Westhuizen's publicist announced that he had a muscle-related neural disease. It was believed to be a form of motor neurone disease. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States[1] have since confirmed that he had motor neurone disease. They believed he had only a 20% chance of living for two to five years.[2]
On 6 February 2017, van der Westhuizen died at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa from complications of motor neurone disease, aged 45.[3]
References
- ↑ Suttell, Scott (28 July 2011). "If you're flying out of Cleveland or Akron, you're probably paying more". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ↑ Doctor confirms Joost's fears, 27 July 2011
- ↑ "BREAKING: Joost van der Westhuizen has died". Time live. Times Media Group. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
Other websites
- Bates, Rupert (2 September 2007). Joost van der Westhuizen wary on South Africa. London: telegraph.co.uk. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/09/02/srjoos102.xml. Retrieved 26 December 2007.[dead link]
- Joost van der Westhuizen. bbc.co.uk. 24 September 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/rugby_world_cup/team_pages/south_africa/players_to_watch/2956856.stm. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- "Joost van der Westhuizen". rugbyhalloffame.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- Joost Van der Westhuizen. scrum.com. http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/11575.html. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
- J9 Foundation Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
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