Joost van der Westhuizen

Full name	Joost van der Westhuizen Heystek
Date of birth	(1971-02-20)20 February 1971
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Date of death	6 February 2017(2017-02-06) (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
Position(s) Scrum-half Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1993–2003 Blue Bulls () Correct as of 26 December 2007 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–2003 Bulls 71 (61) Correct as of 15 September 2012 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1993–2003 South Africa 89 (190) Correct as of 15 September 2012

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.

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]

• Bates, Rupert (2 September 2007). "Joost van der Westhuizen wary on South Africa". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2007.^{[permanent dead link]}
• "Joost van der Westhuizen". bbc.co.uk. 24 September 2003. 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. Retrieved 26 December 2007.
• J9 Foundation Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine

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