Joost van der Westhuizen returns to Loftus one last time
Rugby supporters, former players and dignitaries have gathered at Loftus Versveld in Pretoria for the official funeral of rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen.
Emotional scenes, as members of the 1995 winning Rugby World Cup Springbok team carried the casket through the tunnel and onto the field.
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Supporters arrived to say farewell from early this morning.
Fellow players, most of them from the 1995 Rugby World Cup team also paid their last respects.
Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has declared a special provincial official funeral for the late former Springbok captain.
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"Mr van der Westhuizen will be remembered for his splendid talent and excellent leadership that he has displayed in the rugby national team and in the sports community at large which made him one of the best rugby players that the country has ever produced," says the Presidency in a statement.
The president has ordered that the national flag at all flag stations in Gauteng be flown at half-mast today, to commemorate his funeral.