We salute a true Rugby legend and may you over come your illnes .

1. Joost van der Westhuizen is a South African former rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for the national team. He played in the 1995, the 1999and the [[2003 Rugby World Cup|2003] Rugby World Cups. 
3. Born: February 20, 1971 (age 43), Pretoria
4. Height: 1.85 m
5. Weight: 88 kg
6. Education: University of Pretoria

7. Van der Westhuizen spent his entire club career with the Provincial State side the Blue Bulls, from 1993 until 2003, whereupon he retired from playing rugby.
   He spent his entire career as a scrum half, and has the honour of being part of the first ever South African team to win the Rugby World Cup when the Springboks triumphed on home soil in 1995. Many observers of the game highlighted Van der Westhuizen's contribution to the team as vital, and a driving force behind the team's successes. As a scrum half, despite standing 6 ft 1 ins, an unusually tall height for a scrum half, he was known for finding and penetrating the tiniest gaps in opposition defences, and his willingness to move forward and join the attack, which brought him 190 points from 89 international caps. In his defensive duty, he played with savage aggression and a fearlessness that aided his team greatly, often producing heroic and result-defining tackles. This attribute was rigorously noted most during the game against New Zealand, who were favourites to win the tournament. Jonah Lomu, New Zealand's winger, made a typical battering run from deep. He defied several challenges before Van der Westhuizen hauled him down just outside the 22m line. Indeed, Lomu had never scored a try against South Africa, and never achieved such a moment again.
   Van der Westhuizen retired from international rugby in 2003 as South Africa's record cap holder
8. 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 20% chance of living longer than five years from diagnosis