President of the South African Rugby Union, Mark Alexander, has paid tribute to former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom. Photo: SA Rugby website
RIP: SA Rugby pays tribute to Hannes Strydom
President of the South African Rugby Union, Mark Alexander, has paid tribute to former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom.
President of the South African Rugby Union, Mark Alexander, has paid tribute to former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom. Photo: SA Rugby website
President of the South African Rugby Union, Mark Alexander, has paid tribute to former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom, a member of the Rugby World Cup-winning squad in 1995, who sadly passed away in a car accident on Sunday evening.
He was 58.
ALSO READ | Stormers take heart despite dire tour results
Strydom, who was born on 13 July 1965, played in 21 Tests and 10 non-Tests between 1993 and 1997.
He helped the Springboks win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time, on home soil, in 1995, and also faced the British & Irish Lions in 1997.
He was also a member of the Lions when they won the Super 10, Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup in the 1990s, and played provincially for the Eastern Province and the Bulls, finishing his career with more than 150 provincial appearances.
MUST READ | Cheslin Kolbe reflects on Rugby World Cup final yellow card
After his playing days, Hannes Strydom was a successful businessman who owned a chain of pharmacies.
He is the fifth member of the 1995 Springbok squad to have passed away, after Ruben Kruger, Joost van der Westhuizen, Chester Williams and James Small.
“Hannes was one of the great locks of his generation and as a member of the Springbok squad from 1995, one of the heroes of our local game,” said Alexander.
“He also played more than 100 games for the Lions at a time when they dominated the game in South Africa and won the Super 10 before it became Super Rugby, which underlined the quality of that team.
“Hannes, along with other players from that Lions team, such as Francois Pienaar, Balie Swart, Kobus Wiese, and Hennie le Roux, formed the core of the famous Springbok squad that lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in South Africa in 1995.
“He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work. To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Nikolie, their children, Annalie, Hannes and Lucy, family and friends in this very difficult time.”
IN CLOSING | Which nations will bid to host the next Rugby World Cup?
