[1] He captained the national side on ten occasions and was part of the team that won South Africa's first Tri-Nations title in 1998.

He eventually began using a wheelchair and experienced speech problems, yet still raised awareness of the disease through his charity, the J9 Foundation.

[2] Van der Westhuizen was born on 20 February 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Van der Westhuizen spent his entire provincial career with South African side the Blue Bulls, from 1993 until 2003, whereupon he retired from playing rugby.

On New Zealand's wing was Jonah Lomu, an emergent talent, capable of making powerful runs from deep.

Lomu was effectively marked by Van der Westhuizen who made several key tackles, including one just outside the 22m line.

[15] Van der Westhuizen was part of the team that won South Africa's first Tri-Nations series title in 1998.

[20] Injuries sustained while on international duty led to him missing the greater parts of three consecutive Super 12 seasons in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

[2] At the end of March he lost his job as a television presenter with the South African broadcaster SuperSport.

"[37] In May 2011, van der Westhuizen's publicist confirmed that he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

[39] A few months later, Dr Kelbrick, his personal doctor and a family friend, noticed his right arm weakness and arranged for tests.

An August 2013 BBC Sport report illustrated the progress of his disease – by then, Van der Westhuizen was using a wheelchair, and his speech had grown increasingly slurred.

[39] A feature-length documentary, Glory Game, directed by Odette Schwegler, followed him for a period while he was dealing with having motor neurone disease.

[42] On 4 February 2017 he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Fourways Life Hospital in Johannesburg where he was placed on a ventilator.