OBITUARY: World Cup-winning South Africa scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen

Few rugby players can simply be identified by their first names. Gareth, Sonny Bill, Zinzan, Jonny, and Jonah are some of the few whose deeds and skills have given them that particular status. And Joost.

Joost van der Westhuizen, the brilliant Springbok and Bulls scrum-half , whose fame on the rugby was matched off it by his grit to fight the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of Motor Neuron Disease (MND), died on February 6.

He was 45 and is survived by two children — son Jordan (13) and daughter Kylie (10) — as well as his father Gustav, mother Mariana, and brothers Pieter and Gustav.