’95 rugby heroes to carry casket

Several of Joost van der Westhuizen’s 1995 World Cup-winning teammates will act as pallbearers at his memorial service in Pretoria today.

The former Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf died on Monday following a six-year battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis‚ a form of motor neuron disease (MND). He was 45.

Organisers of the memorial – to be held at Van der Westhuizen’s beloved Loftus Versfeld – confirmed that most of the ’95 World Cup-winning team would be in attendance and that several of the players would carry the casket after the motorcade enters the stadium.

The captain of the victorious 1995 side, Francois Pienaar, will lead the eulogies.

Van der Westhuizen was an instrumental figure in the tournament on home soil 22 years ago‚ especially in the final with his superb defence on marauding All Blacks wing Jonah Lomu.

Lomu died of a heart attack at his Auckland home 15 months ago, aged 40.

On Monday, Pienaar described Van der Westhuizen as an extraordinary player – a sentiment shared across the world in hundreds of messages since his death.

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula will give a speech and erstwhile teammate and SA Rugby Legends chief executive Stefan Terblanche will also eulogise his former teammate.

Members of Van der Westhuizen’s family will also speak and music artists will perform.

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont has flown out from Dublin and is expected to speak on behalf of the game’s governing body. SA Rugby president Mark Alexander will represent Saru.

More than 20 000 people are expected to attend the service.

Following a private ceremony earlier today, Van der Westhuizen’s casket will be escorted to Loftus Versfeld. The service at the stadium will be open to the public.

Yesterday, the Bulls Super Rugby team beat the Chiefs 28-7 in a preseason friendly in Brisbane and dedicated the win to their former skipper. The players wore black armbands. – TMG Digital