FH ODENDAAL HIGH SCHOOL'S ONLY SPRINGBOK
Given that he was a legendary Bulls player, you would have thought that Joost van der Westhuizen was from the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool ("Affies") rugby conveyor belt. However, FH Odendaal High , near the Hartbeesspruit in Derdepoort, gave South African rugby its ambidextrous halfback.
FHOdendaal is in the lower reaches of Pretoria's school rugby scene. Southdowns College, Menlopark and Waterkloof are the three schools that contest the turf ruled by Affies, which produced Springboks Fourie du Preez, like Van der Westhuizen a scrumhalf, and Wynand Olivier, among others.
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THE DERICK HOUGAARD HOSPITAL PASS
Van der Westhuizen hardly got his passes wrong but one of the few times he did, Derick Hougaard was on the receiving end. Hougaard was hit by a tackle from Samoa's Brian Lima, nicknamed The Chiropractor. It happened in a 2003 World Cup game in Brisbane.
Australian TV commentator Greg Clarke called the crash tackle a "car accident". Hougaard got up and brushed off the incident as if it had never happened, but it could have been Van der Westhuizen's way of initiating his young Bulls teammate into international rugby.
MISSING THE BULLS' WINLESS 2002 SUPER RUGBY SEASON
Van der Westhuizen's timing with injuries was often good. He played in the World Cups that coincided with his career even though he was injured for the better part of those seasons.
One campaign he missed - and would have been happy to be absent from - was the Bulls' 2002 Super Rugby season when they lost all 11 of their matches and conceded the most points and tries in a season.
WHEN MATT DAWSON GOT THE BETTER OF HIM
One of the few times when Van der Westhuizen was overshadowed by an opposition scrumhalf came in the first test against the British and Irish Lions at Newlands in 1997. Matt Dawson of the Lions was not only better on the night, he also sold Bok captain Gary Teichmann an outrageous dummy and scored the match-winning try.
The Springboks lost the series, but by the end of it, Van der Westhuizen had clearly reassumed his position as the better player of the two in the No9 jersey.
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THE CONTESTED STADE DE FRANCE TRY
Most of his 38 tries in 89 tests were clear-cut, but not the one he scored in the 1999 World Cup quarterfinal against England in Paris. Receiving a pass from Pieter Muller, he squeezed over in the corner with England's Richard Hill hanging on to him.
It was touch and go whether his foot was in touch and he might not have got away with it today because of the improved accuracy of TV cameras. But there were also the pinpoint passes that he gave on the day to flyhalf Jannie de Beer, who kicked five drop goals, a World Cup record. That made the Boks convincing 44-21 winners.
The Boks lost in the semifinals to Australia but beat the All Blacks in the third-place playoff.
TWO CURRIE CUP SUCCESSES
It's surprising that he only held the Currie Cup aloft twice. But they were also the only cup finals in which he played. - Khanyiso Tshwaku
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