Joost van der Westhuizen
Encyclopedia
Joost van der Westhuizen (born 20 February 1971) is a former South African rugby union
footballer who was the Springboks'
first choice scrum-half in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He was capped 89 times for the Springboks and scored 38 tries. He retired as the most capped Springbok of all time, a record since broken by Percy Montgomery
at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
, and held the record for the most test tries by a South African player, until it was broken at the 2011 Rugby World Cup
by Bryan Habana
. His career test try tally of 38 makes him the scrum-half with the most tries in Test Rugby. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest half-backs of all time, as evidenced by his presence in the 2007 induction class of the International Rugby Hall of Fame
.
With his uncharacteristically big build for a scrum-half, he was known as an aggressive and fast runner and ferocious defender. Van der Westhuizen was best suited to a very physical type of game, often mixing it up with the forwards. He enjoyed his greatest success when playing alongside Chester Williams
and the great fullback, Andre Joubert
, especially when they attacked at pace around the blind side of the scrum
.
He played in the 1995
and 1999
Rugby World Cup
s. In the former he defended heroically, famously tackling New Zealand's giant wing Jonah Lomu
, amongst others leading to the Springbok World Cup victory. Van der Westhuizen's strengths as a rugby player lay in his dangerous ability to 'snipe' around the fringes of rucks, often leading to tries, as well as his fearless defence. Van der Westhuizen was also an inspirational player and captain, a talismanic figure in many successful Springbok sides. Van der Westhuizen played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup
before eventually retiring from international rugby, having won every tournament trophy available to a South African rugby player aside from the Super 12 or a series victory over a British and Irish Lions touring team. His honours include the Currie Cup twice (1998 & 2002), a Tri-Nations title (1998) and the World Cup (1995).
In July 2004 he joined Supersport as a commentator
. His contract with the channel was later terminated.
On 12 May 2011, Van der Westhuizen's publicist announced that he had a muscle related neural disease, believed to be a form of motor neurone disease. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic
in the United States have since confirmed that the former Springbok captain has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
and has only an 80% chance of living for two to five years from diagnosis.
In March 2009, a mystery former female sports star – thought to be high-jump champion Charmaine Weavers (Gale) – claimed in a very detailed interview in YOU magazine that she had an on-off affair with him, with sexual encounters even while his wife Amor was in hospital. Also in March, a former stripper called Marilize van Emmenis came forward and in an interview with heat magazine said that she was the girl in the video with Van der Westhuizen, and that they had done drugs together. She passed a polygraph test and her voice was verified by a voice-recognition expert. Van der Westhuizen has refused to comment on this and other subsequent allegations of improper conduct with other women.
On 28 June 2009, Van der Westhuizen was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack, though he was discharged soon afterward when tests found no evidence of heart problems. A panic attack was suspected. On 1 November Van der Westuizen confessed that it was him in the controversial sex video and he apologized for lying. It's around that time that his autobiography was released, "Spieëlbeeld" (Man in the mirror)
(ALS) a form of motor neuron disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Van der Westhuizen's doctor Jody Pearl told South African newspaper The Beeld: "Joost does indeed suffer from ALS, which gives him an 80 per cent chance to live between two and five years."
ALS
is incurable. With symptoms including breathing difficulties, speech problems and paralysis, it is fatal in the majority of cases.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer who was the Springboks'
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
first choice scrum-half in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He was capped 89 times for the Springboks and scored 38 tries. He retired as the most capped Springbok of all time, a record since broken by Percy Montgomery
Percy Montgomery
Percival Colin "Percy" Montgomery is a retired South African rugby union player...
at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
, and held the record for the most test tries by a South African player, until it was broken at the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
by Bryan Habana
Bryan Habana
Bryan Gary Habana is a South African rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super 14, and the 2007 Rugby World Cup champions Springboks...
. His career test try tally of 38 makes him the scrum-half with the most tries in Test Rugby. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest half-backs of all time, as evidenced by his presence in the 2007 induction class of the International Rugby Hall of Fame
International Rugby Hall of Fame
The International Rugby Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for rugby union. It was created in 1997 in New Zealand and is run as a charitable trust with an address at Chiswick in London. Most of the trustees are also inductees. IRHOF accepts new inductees every two years...
.
With his uncharacteristically big build for a scrum-half, he was known as an aggressive and fast runner and ferocious defender. Van der Westhuizen was best suited to a very physical type of game, often mixing it up with the forwards. He enjoyed his greatest success when playing alongside Chester Williams
Chester Williams
Chester Mornay Williams is a former South African rugby union rugby player. He played as a winger for the Springboks from 1993 to 2000...
and the great fullback, Andre Joubert
André Joubert
André Joubert is a former South African rugby union player. He was capped 34 times at fullback for the Springboks in the early 1990s, and amassed a total of 115 Test Points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions....
, especially when they attacked at pace around the blind side of the scrum
Scrum (rugby union)
In rugby union a scrum is a means of restarting play after a minor infringement. It involves up to eight players from each team, known as the pack or forward pack, binding together in three rows and interlocking with the free opposing teams forwards. At this point the ball is fed into the gap...
.
He played in the 1995
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
and 1999
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
s. In the former he defended heroically, famously tackling New Zealand's giant wing Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
, amongst others leading to the Springbok World Cup victory. Van der Westhuizen's strengths as a rugby player lay in his dangerous ability to 'snipe' around the fringes of rucks, often leading to tries, as well as his fearless defence. Van der Westhuizen was also an inspirational player and captain, a talismanic figure in many successful Springbok sides. Van der Westhuizen played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
before eventually retiring from international rugby, having won every tournament trophy available to a South African rugby player aside from the Super 12 or a series victory over a British and Irish Lions touring team. His honours include the Currie Cup twice (1998 & 2002), a Tri-Nations title (1998) and the World Cup (1995).
In July 2004 he joined Supersport as a commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
. His contract with the channel was later terminated.
On 12 May 2011, Van der Westhuizen's publicist announced that he had a muscle related neural disease, believed to be a form of motor neurone disease. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
in the United States have since confirmed that the former Springbok captain has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
and has only an 80% chance of living for two to five years from diagnosis.
Controversy
In February 2009, Rapport newspaper and Heat magazine reported that they had video evidence of him engaging in sex play with a mystery blonde and snorting a white substance. He denied being in the video but admitted knowing the two people in it. although he has never identified who they are. Heat magazine later posted censored versions of the video online. Van der Westhuizen said he would lay criminal charges and civil claims against the makers/producers of the video, but eight months later has not done so.In March 2009, a mystery former female sports star – thought to be high-jump champion Charmaine Weavers (Gale) – claimed in a very detailed interview in YOU magazine that she had an on-off affair with him, with sexual encounters even while his wife Amor was in hospital. Also in March, a former stripper called Marilize van Emmenis came forward and in an interview with heat magazine said that she was the girl in the video with Van der Westhuizen, and that they had done drugs together. She passed a polygraph test and her voice was verified by a voice-recognition expert. Van der Westhuizen has refused to comment on this and other subsequent allegations of improper conduct with other women.
On 28 June 2009, Van der Westhuizen was taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack, though he was discharged soon afterward when tests found no evidence of heart problems. A panic attack was suspected. On 1 November Van der Westuizen confessed that it was him in the controversial sex video and he apologized for lying. It's around that time that his autobiography was released, "Spieëlbeeld" (Man in the mirror)
Illness
In May 2011 van der Westhuizen sought medical assistance after difficulty with slurred speech and the loss of muscle power. Tests have subsequently confirmed that he is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosisAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(ALS) a form of motor neuron disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Van der Westhuizen's doctor Jody Pearl told South African newspaper The Beeld: "Joost does indeed suffer from ALS, which gives him an 80 per cent chance to live between two and five years."
ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
is incurable. With symptoms including breathing difficulties, speech problems and paralysis, it is fatal in the majority of cases.