South African captain François Pienaar (L) brandishing the William Webb Ellis trophy and saluting the crowd with teammate Hannes Strydom after the 1995 Rugby World Cup final match against New Zealand File. Former Rugby World Cup winner with the Springboks, Hannes Strydom died in a car accident on Sunday. Seen here: South African captain François Pienaar (L) brandishing the William Webb Ellis trophy and saluting the crowd with teammate Hannes Strydom after the 1995 Rugby World Cup final match against New Zealand. Picture: Philip Littleton/AFP
Former Rugby World Cup winner with the Springboks, Hannes Strydom died in a car accident on Sunday.
Strydom was 58.
The news broke on Monday morning, with Strydom’s 1995 teammate Kobus Wiese verifying the tragic story.
"Yes, it is so (Strydom's passing) ... At this stage the information is very vague, but I know it happened somewhere in Mpumalanga. He and another person was in a vehicle that collided with a taxi. That's what we know at this stage,” Wiese was quoted as saying by News24.
The 1.99m-tall lock played a key role in the Springboks securing their first Rugby World Cup title in 1995 on home soil.
Strydom is the fifth player from the 1995 team to have died, after Ruben Kruger, Joost van Der Westhuizen, James Small and Chester Williams all passed on.
The powerfully built Strydom played 21 times for the Springboks between 1993 and 1997, as he was a vital member in the engine room of the first successful Springbok team post Apartheid.
Strydom made his debut for the Springboks aged 27 on July 3, 1993 against France at Ellis Park. He would go on to play for the Springboks in their tours to Australia and Argentina later that year, as he established his place in the team. He ended his Springbok career in 1997 after playing in the British Lions series.
Provincially, he played for Transvaal/Golden Lions from 1993 to 2000, notching up 115 caps during a successful period for the Johannesburg side. The second rower also captained the Lions team that hoisted the Currie Cup trophy in 1999.
The Lions Rugby Company on Monday paid tribute Strydom.
“The Lions Rugby Company has learnt with great sadness the passing of former Lions and Springbok lock Hannes Strydom,” the Lions Rugby Company said in a statement.
Lions Rugby Company CEO Rudolf Straeuli confirmed the news, and expressed his condolences, on behalf of the franchise to the Strydom family.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Hannes,” said Straeuli. “We share a tight bond as members of the 1995 group and to lose yet another one of our brothers is a big blow.
“Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends and the rugby fraternity at large,” he concluded.“
The news of Strydom’s death comes less than a month after the Siya Kolisi-led Springboks successfully defended their Rugby World Cup title, bringing their tally to four global crowns.
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