Hannes Strydom: South African Ex-Player Dies In Car Crash

Former South African rugby player, Hannes Strydom, lost his life in a car accident at the age of 58.

Hannes Strydom played for the Springbok team, famous for winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup after apartheid ended in 1994.

In his twenty-one-year career, Strydom amassed twenty-one Springbok caps.

Former teammate and close friend Kobus Wiese told local media that Strydom’s car collided with a minibus taxi, though the exact details of the accident are still unknown.

The incident occurred on Sunday near the coal mining town of eMalahleni in the province of Mpumalanga.

In the Springboks’ homage to Strydom, South Africa Rugby Union President, Mark Alexander, praised him as “one of the heroes of our local game”.

The Lions Rugby, his previous Rugby cub, also honored him, calling him a legend who had forged a strong lock combination with Wiese.

The Rugby Club chief executive officer, Rudolf Straeuli, said, “We share a tight bond as members of the 1995 group, and to lose yet another one of our brothers is a big blow”.

The 1995 World Cup final in Johannesburg saw Strydom make his debut for the Springboks in 1993 and help defeat bitter rivals New Zealand 15–12.

He participated in the British and Irish Lions series before calling it quits on his Springbok career in 1997.

Strydom led the Lions squad that won the regional Currie Cup in 1999. From 1993 to 2000, he made 115 appearances for the team.

He is the fifth member of the Springbok team from 1995 to have died.

The others are Chester Williams and James Small in 2019; Joost van der Westhuizen in 2017; and Ruben Kruger in 2010. In 1998, Coach Kitch Christie also passed away.