Joost van der Westhuizen loses battle to MND
Rest easy, Joost: South African rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen died this week at the age of 45. The World Cup winner was battling Motor Neurone Disease (MND), which when he was diagnosed with in 2011 Van der Westhuizen was given only a couple of years to live. “Typical of the man, Van der Westhuizen defied the doctors’ predictions to hold on for six years, all the while raising funds for fellow suffers of this vicious disease through his charity, the J9 Foundation,” Daniel Schofield writes for The Telegraph. “He was absolutely one of the lynchpins of the 1995 World Cup-winning side, up there with captain Francois Pienaar. Who can forget those telling tackles on the giant Jonah Lomu in the final,” former England player Matt Dawson writes for BBC. Van der Westhuizen is remembered not only for being a prolific rugby player (runtime 04:31), but also for his off the pitch and after his diagnosis with MND. He formed the J9 Foundation in aid of those suffering from MND and created a platform to allow people, companies and friends to support the quality of life programs available within this organization. You can learn more about the foundation and how you can help with the fight against MND here.