South African Rugby World Cup winner dies aged 58 in car crash after ‘collision with taxi’ in his home country
- Former South African rugby star Hannes Strydom has died at the age of 58
- Strydom was involved in a car accident in which a taxi collided with his car
Former South African rugby star Hannes Strydom has died aged 58 after being involved in a car accident.
Strydom – who was part of the 1995 Springboks Rugby World Cup winning squad – is believed to have been involved in a collision with a taxi in his homeland in Mpumalanga province – northeast of Johannesburg – on Sunday evening.
He won 21 caps for the Springboks between 1993 and 1997 and played his entire club career in his native South Africa.
The Springboks paid tribute to Strydom on social media as president Mark Alexander praised him for being ‘a hero’ of South African rugby.
“Hannes was one of the great players of his generation and, as a member of the Springbok squad from 1995, one of the heroes of our local game,” he said.
Former South African rugby star Hannes Strydom has died aged 58 after a car accident
Strydom played 21 games for the Springboks and was part of their 1995 World Cup winning squad
“He also played over 100 games for the Lions at a time when they dominated the game in South Africa, winning the Super 10 before it became Super Rugby, which underlined the quality of that team.
‘Hannes, together 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 Bok team that won the Webb Ellis Cup in South Africa in 1995.
“He was a hard-working lock who never hesitated to get stuck in and do the dirty work.
“Losing another member of the iconic 1995 Bok squad is a major 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 at this very difficult time.”
His former club Lions also paid tribute to him – with CEO and former teammate Rudolf Straeuli recalling their ‘close bond’.
Strydom – pictured with his wife in 2010 – is said to have been involved in a collision with a taxi
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Hannes’ passing,” said Rudolf Straeuli, CEO of Lions Rugby Company and former teammate. “We share a close bond as members of the 1995 group and the loss of another of our brothers is a major blow.
“Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and the rugby union community in general.”
Strydom was placed in intensive care in 2014 after being attacked by six people in an attempted carjacking.
He fought off the attackers but was left with cuts to his head and a broken skull and jaw after they threw rocks through his window.
Strydom is the fifth player from South Africa’s 1995 World Cup-winning team to die – after Ruben Kruger, Joost van der Westhuizen, Chester Williams and James Small.
The team’s coach – Kitch Christie – died a year after they won the trophy.