Joost van der Westhuizen's life in pictures
A true great, Joost van der Westhuizen will not only be remembered for his humanitarian work in aid of other sufferers of Motor Neuron Disease but also his contributions towards the improvement of South African rugby.
Inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007, van der Westhuizen held the try scoring record of 38 for the Springboks and played 89 tests for the country. The record was later broken by Bryan Habana.
His role was fundamental in leading the country to a 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1998 Tri-Nations victory. Here are five highlights of the crucial moments of the rugby legend's life.
Van der Westhuizen, winger Stefan Terblanche and fullback Percy Montgomery tackle Jonah Lomu during the Rugby World Cup third place play-off match between New Zealand and South Africa. See Joost's tackle in the 1995 final below.
A triumphant van der Westhuizen at the final whistle of the Rugby Union World Cup Final between South Africa and the New Zealand All Blacks at Ellis Park Stadium in 1995. South Africa won 15-12.
Playing for the Blue Bulls, the team won the Currie Cup on two occasions - in 1998 and 2002. The image shown is of the final between the Bulls (24) and Western Province (20) in 1998.
Van der Westhuizen captained the national rugby team during the Rugby World Cup quarter-final match against the All Blacks in 2003. The players leave the field after New Zealand beat South Africa 29-9.
No.9's most famous try-scoring techniques.