IN PICTURES: Friends, family and fans gather to pay tribute to Joost

Friends, family and fans gathered to pay tribute to rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen at his memorial service at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

Van der Westhuizen‚ the former Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf‚ died in a Johannesburg hospital on Monday following a six-year battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis‚ a form of motor neuron disease (MND). He was 45.

Most of the ’95 World Cup winning team were in attendance at the memorial.

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• 'He's finally free from the body that tested him so cruelly'- Amor's heart-wrenching farewell to Joost There wasn't a dry eye at Joost van der Westhuizen's public memorial on Friday afternoon when his estranged wife, Amor Vittone poured her heart out in tribute to him.  

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• Mbalula compares Joost to Lomu and GreganMinister of Sport Fikile Mbalula glowingly compared Joost van der Westhuizen to rugby greats such as George Gregan and Jonah Lomu during the public and provincial memorial service in Pretoria on Friday. 

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• Joost was ‘was our brother‚ a father and a son and performed those roles with pride’In an emotional testimony during the public and provincial memorial for his brother Joost van der Westhuizen‚ Pieter van Westhuizen described him as a simple Pretoria boy who worked hard to achieve what seemed an impossible dream of becoming a Springbok. 

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• WATCH: PJ Powers' extraordinary tribute to JoostPJ Powers united South Africans during the 1995 world cup with her performance of World in Union and she brought the house down at the memorial service for Joost van der Westhuizen on Friday. 

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