Pretoria – Members of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning team, including Francois Pienaar and Victor Matfield, will be among those honouring former Springbok captain Joost van der Westhuizen at his memorial service on Friday.
It takes place at the Loftus Versveld Stadium – home of the Blue Bulls, Van der Westhuizen’s home ground, where flags are flying at half mast and fans have left floral tributes.
Van der Westhuizen succumbed to Motor Neurone Disease (MND) on Monday after a six-year battle since being diagnosed with the disease.
Family and friends will say their goodbyes at a private service prior to the official public memorial.
The rugby legend was part of the World Cup winning team. In what was considered one of the stand-out performances of his generation, he tackled another rugby giant, Jonah Lomu, just steps from the try line.
On Thursday, pupils of Hoërskool FH Odendaal, Van der Westhuizen’s alma mater, paid tribute during a touching service.
They lined up to light candles before heading to the school fields where they performed the Haka in his honour.
The head boy, Lesiba Serite, described Van der Westhuizen as “one of our own” and said the school had lost “a great man; the greatest scrumhalf that ever lived”.
The public memorial service is expected to draw thousands to the stadium as family, friends and sports fans come to bid farewell to the rugby icon.
The service is set to start at 12:30 but, with around 15 000 people expected, the public has been urged to arrive early so the programme can start on time.
“In honour of the legend and the contribution he made to South African rugby, all members of the public are urged to wear green and gold on Friday,” said Bridget von Holdt, business director for Burson-Marsteller, which is helping co-ordinate the event.
“Speakers who will be featured in the programme include Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula, Deputy Minister Gert Oosthuizen, 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning Captain Francois Pienaar, and World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont,” Von Holdt said.
SuperSport 1 will broadcast the service live from 12:30pm, and it will also be streamed on supersport.com.