Joost – ‘a great player and a great man’

JACK MILNER

We all knew that moment was coming but the former Springbok scrumhalf and captain had lived with the threat of death from motor neuron disease since he was diagnosed in 2011 in such fighting spirit that we believed he could go on indefinitely.

So, when the news broke on Monday that he had finally given up his brave fight at the age of 45, it still came as a shock.

At 1,85 metres, he was tall for a scrumhalf. But he changed the whole concept of that position: previously a scrumhalf had traditionally been seen as merely a link between the forwards and the backline. But Joost, with his devastating speed and keen “reading” of the game, changed all that.

International rugby referee Jonathan Kaplan and flyhalf Joel Stransky, whose drop goal sealed a World Cup win for the Boks in 1995, shared some thoughts on Joost.

On the rugby field Joost thrilled the public with his great pace, physicality and self-belief. “He was a very combative, very physical,” said Kaplan on Tuesday. “His greatest attribute was his speed off the mark. That was what helped him to get a world record 38 tries for a scrumhalf.”,

Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world as the rugby fraternity mourns one of its all-time greats.   

“I refereed him in a number of Currie Cup matches but in only one final and that was in 2002,” said Kaplan. “The only time I blew in a Test match in which he played was at Newlands against Namibia. 

“Joost played to win and when he was on the field he was in control. He played in a number of winning games and he was the central figure in most of them. It was him leading (the leaders on the field) Fourie du Preez and Victor Matfield.

“As a referee we would clash at times. As I said, he was very combative and sometimes that stretched to referees as well. He was very vocal and could be quite strong in making his point, but he was never aggressive.

“I was not part of his circle so we did not mix off the field much, but when we did he was nice enough,” said Kaplan.

One person who knew him a lot better and was part of that circle was 1995 World Cup teammate, flyhalf Joel Stransky.

“There were none better than him,” Stransky told John Maytham of Cape Talk. “He was devastatingly dangerous with ball in hand… that is just unbelievable!

He was unique, absolutely devastating with ball in hand.”

But, Stransky pointed out, there was also quite a fun side to the Springbok scrumhalf. “He was a naughty little imp – there was always chaos around him! I remember him crawling under the table and setting my shoelaces on fire.

“But every team needs those guys. That’s the heart, spirit and soul of the team environment and he was part of that in every team he played.”

Then the defining moment of the 1995 World Cup final against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Joost got the ball out of the scrum, flung out a bullet pass to Stransky who coolly kicked over the drop goal that won the title for the Springboks.   

“He and I always joked about the pass,” said Stransky. “He teased me, saying I never thanked him for the pass, but I teased him that I had to take one step to the left to catch the pass.

“But it was one of his better passes. He was always looking for opportunity to use his great pace. Every now and then you got the chance to kick a drop goal because Joost created that space. And that drop goal changed my life as much as it changed his.”

In 2015 many of those World Cup players from all over the planet got together for the 20-year anniversary and when Joost was brought into the dinner reception in his wheelchair, he received a standing ovation. There were these massive rugby players openly crying.

His Australian counterpart, George Gregan, went over to Joost and hugged him.

“There is a saying in the rugby fraternity that you don’t make friends but create family and those relationships last forever,” said Stransky.

“All the guys he played against were recognising him as the best in the game. That respect you saw was not just for him as a player, but for him as a person.

“In life you learn from people in different stages. In his younger years we learned about him as a player and as a naughty little imp who caused chaos off the field but in the later years we learned about courage and fighting spirit and how to adapt to new challenges and fight and live through them.”

Jean de Villiers, who also captained the Boks, remembered a special moment with Van der Westhuizen in 2012. “The day before every Test match we get a special person to hand over the Springbok jerseys.

“That year we were in Argentina and it was left to Joost to hand over the jerseys. He was in the wheelchair and it was very emotional. We could still see the pride he had in that jersey. The message he shared with us that day was very meaningful.”

It is fitting to let Stransky have the last word. “His tackle on the massive All Black wing Jonah Lomu in the 1995 World Cup was legendary. His crawling under the table and burning all our shoelaces was memorable, but I think the greatest moment for him as a running scrumhalf was the try he scored at Twickenham shortly after the World Cup, to beat England.

“No defence in the world would have fancied him to get past them in that little corner but he found a way. It was game changing and a massive win for all of us. We all celebrated with him that night.

“A great player and a great man!”