'Lomu brought the best out of me' - Joost

Lomu died on Wednesday as family spokesman John Mayhew revealed the former All Black’s death was “totally unexpected”. Lomu had arrived back in New Zealand from the UK on Tuesday, after spending time there for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Lomu had struggled with a serious kidney condition he was diagnosed with in 1997.

“Difficult to write with eyes full of tears on my eye tracker. Thank you for EVERYTHING Jonah. RIP my dear friend!” tweeted Van der Westhuizen on Wednesday.

Lomu at 192cm tall and 119 kilograms during the 1995 World Cup, mesmerised opponents with his sheer size and speed, but in the final of the World Cup the Springboks led by Van der Westhuizen were able to run out 15-12 victors in extra-time on June 24.

Lomu filmed a documentary earlier this year called ‘Jonah Lomu: Back to South Africa’ where he met up with some of the Springboks from 1995. At its conclusion, Lomu met up with Van der Westhuizen who himself is struggling with a disease after he was diagnosed with a form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2011 and is now confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak.

“I’ll be honest, you brought the best out of me,” said Van der Westhuizen through the aid of a translator at the start of their meeting.

In the documentary, Lomu said I’m going to meet a great friend and the man who stopped me in my tracks at Ellis Park.

“It’s been 20 years since we played that day. Everybody that played in that match made a big difference to this country, and also a big difference to world rugby. World rugby changed after that.

“I never got to tell you, but it was a privilege playing against you, my friend,” said Lomu.

Van der Westhuizen responded: “It was the same for me. You were the superstar.”

After Van der Westhuizen told Lomu he brought the best out of him, the winger responded in typical humble fashion.

“Mate, I think you guys brought the best out of me. I remember you were constantly talking, and I thought that man doesn’t shut up. I remember coming through the line and there was no one there and then all of a sudden I went ‘Where’s my legs?’ and it was you [who tackled me],” said Lomu.

After signing a picture on Van der Westhuizen’s wall from the 1995 final, Lomu ended his short stay by saying, ‘calling Joost a friend kept him going’.

“Promise me you’ll keep fighting because I will,” said Lomu.

“I know you Joost, as the Springbok number nine that tackled me and stopped me from scoring a try and stopped us from winning the World Cup.

“I’m sure you’re going to beat this [MND] thing because you just have that spirit. That rugby spirit. You don’t get to the top if you don’t have that. I’m going to keep fighting, and that’s a bond that we’ll always have. We may have played for different countries, but we stood for important things like pride and strength.

A teary-eyed Lomu ended his visit with an emotional farewell for Van der Westhuizen.

“Take care my friend, be strong. I love you,” ended Lomu. - ANA]

(File photo: Gallo Images)