Rugby World Cup 1995: Remembering the Springboks' fallen heroes
New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu is tackled by South African scrumhalf Joost Van der Westhuizen during the Rugby World Cup final in 1995. Photo: Mark Baker/Reuters GAME CHANGING MOMENT: New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu is tackled by South African scrumhalf Joost Van der Westhuizen during the Rugby World Cup final in 1995. Photo: Mark Baker/Reuters
It is a tragic postscript to the monumental achievements of the 1995 Springboks that, 30 years later, there are just 10 survivors of the team that started the final against the All Blacks.
The New Zealanders have also suffered a loss, with Player of the Tournament Jonah Lomu passing away in Auckland in 2015 because of kidney failure. He was 40.
The list of Springboks who have died makes for a sad reading because they were household names that contributed enormously to the rich history of the game in South Africa
James Small, Joost van der Westhuizen, Chester Williams, Ruben Kruger, and Hannes Strydom were hugely popular public figures and their deaths at relatively young ages remains keenly felt.
The first member of the tightly-knit squad to die was Kitch Christie, the coach who engineered an 'ambulance job' by taking over the team only months before the World Cup. He succumbed to leukemia in Pretoria in 1998. He was 58.
The latest squad member to perish was lock Strydom. He was in a tragic car accident two years ago. He was also 58.
Strydom, a pharmacist, formed a formidable second row partnership with Transvaal teammate Kobus Wiese.
The first '95 hero to pass on was the warrior flank Ruben Kruger. The tough Blue Bull scored a crucial try in the semi-final against France in monsoon conditions in Durban and to this day his teammates swear he scored in the final. Kruger seemed to have got over the line but referee Ed Morrison was unsighted and did not award it. If there had been a TMO, Kruger would have scored.
Kruger blacked out during a game in 2000 and tests revealed he had a brain tumor. Surgeons removed the tumour but it resurfaced. After fighting the disease for a decade, Kruger died in January 2010 aged 39.
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