Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom tragically passed away in a car accident on Sunday evening.
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As per African Insider, the accident occurred on the N4 in the Witbank area in Mpumalanga. He was 58 years old.
‘Hannes was one of the great locks of his generation and as a member of the Springbok squad from 1995, one of the heroes of our local game,’ says Mark Alexander, President of the South African Rugby Union.
Strydom was born on 13 July 1965. He played in 21 tests and 10 non-tests between 1993 and 1997, in addition to playing for the Springbok team that won the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time in 1995 on home soil and faced the British & Irish Lions in 1997. He was also a successful businessman who owned a chain of pharmacies.
‘He also played more than 100 games for the Lions at a time when they dominated the game in South Africa and won the Super 10 before it became Super Rugby, which underlined the quality of that team.
According to SA Rugby, Strydom is the fifth member of the 1995 Springbok squad to pass away after Ruben Kruger, Joost van der Westhuizen, Chester Williams and James Small. Kitch Christie, the coach who led the team to World Cup glory, has also passed away.
‘Hannes, along with other players from that Lions team, such as Francois Pienaar, Balie Swart, Kobus Wiese, and Hennie le Roux, formed the core of the famous Bok squad that lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in South Africa in 1995.
‘He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work. To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, Nikolie, their children, Annalie, Hannes and Lucy, family and friends in this very difficult time.’
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Picture: @Springboks / X