The day I met Joost

I remember the day I met Joost van der Westhuizen like it was yesterday.

It was in the autumn of 2008, at Hoërskool Monument. I remember my editor telling me to get to the school to cover this major event.

I expected a giant of a man, but in walked this blue-eyed human being with soft features. For a moment I forgot that Joost was a rugby player because he was so sincere and humble. Joost and a few other rugby legends (no-one else made enough of an impact on me for me to remember who they were) were there for a rugby clinic with some of the school’s prominent players.

I was 23, a fresh-faced, shy and awkward journalist who didn’t know much about rugby.

What I realised was that Joost was not just another rugby player. He must have been a big deal because teachers, pupils and even the principal at the time acted noticeably differently around him.

The introduction was brief because there were lots of media representatives there. It was quite a big thing, but at the time I did not really understand the hype around Joost and why he was so important. That was until I did some research on him.

What I read about his success in rugby was astonishing. Everything was clearer and my understanding became a realisation that this man was a legend.

But what stood out for me in that brief blip in 2008 was how Joost interacted with the schoolboys.

I remember standing next to the field, alone, just watching him with the boys. He was on the far side of the field and I decided to move a little closer to take a better photo (that was my excuse for getting closer to the presence that was around him).

He pulled one boy aside and told him what an exceptional talent he had. I remember looking at the boy’s face. His hero had just told him that he was going to be a success. I never got the boy’s name and for all I know he could be a provincial rugby player now, and telling this same story to other people.

I will never forget that day, it is one of the highlights of my career.

Rest in peace, dear Joost. To the world, you were just a rugby player suffering from MND, but to the rest of us you were a legend who brought a nation together.