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Van der Westhuizen was the perfect scrum-half - Yachvili
By Christopher Devine
Dimitri Yachvili has hailed Joost van der Westhuizen as the perfect scrum-half following the South African's death at the age of 45.
Legendary Springbok Van der Westhuizen died on Monday, having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease several years earlier.
The passing of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winner - widely regarded as one of rugby union's great number nines - prompted a host of tributes.
And former France scrum-half Yachvili told Omnisport: "He was perfect, because he had all the skills a scrum-half needs - the skill, the power, the mental strength, the aura around the team.
"For all the players who played with him he was very positive and important.
"He is a legend for world rugby, for South African rugby, of course, but also for all the scrum-halves who had the chance to watch him play.
"He was as fast as a winger, he was powerful like a flanker and he had very good scrum-half skills, so he was a very modern scrum-half and we are so sad to see him go."
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Latest Comments
The New Zealand performance in the return fixture in 2016 was filthy. A lot of Irish supporters were pretty shocked by it, viewed it as de facto cheating just to avoid another defeat.
Also shocked by the abuse to Ireland, captain, vice-captain and spectators after the full time whistle in Paris defeat, last match.
Sledging is sledging, but that happens during the game and targetting spectators should be completely out of bounds.
The Irish public used to enjoy these matches, even in defeat. Now they are necessary but unpleasant, because NZ apparently cannot accept or respect successful challengers.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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