Comment - What made Joost van der Westhuizen so special and why his spirit could not be crushed

Joost van der Westhuizen was a man of South Africa. There was never to be any mistaking that. The defiance. The physical rigour. The deep-set eyes. The look. He was not going to be easily subdued. Not on the pitch, where his raw-edged, sniping play transformed defence around the fringes, teams thenceforth bringing in rugby league pillars close to the breakdown to stop the Van der Westhuizens of this world. As if that were possible.