Ex-Springboks World Cup winner Hannes Strydom dies

Former Springboks rugby player Hannes Strydom, who was part of the squad that won South Africa’s historic first Rugby World Cup in 1995, has died.

Strydom died in a car accident in Mpumalanga province on Sunday night.

He was aged 58.

Strydom’s ex-Springboks teammate Kobus Wiese told News 24 that Strydom’s car, which had one other person travelling in it, collided with a taxi.

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

In their historic World Cup win at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park stadium, the team defeated New Zealand’s All Blacks 15-12.

The game, which was the first major sporting event in post-apartheid South Africa, was seen as an important moment in the reconciliation of the country, with President Nelson Mandela championing racial unity under the slogan “One Team, One Country.”

This article originally appeared on BBC

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