Van der Westhuizen was the perfect scrum-half - Yachvili

Dimitri Yachvili has hailed Joost van der Westhuizen as the perfect scrum-half following the South African’s death at the age of 45.

Legendary Springbok Van der Westhuizen died on Monday, having been diagnosed with motor neurone disease several years earlier.

The passing of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winner – widely regarded as one of rugby union’s great number nines – prompted a host of tributes.

And former France scrum-half Yachvili told Omnisport: “He was perfect, because he had all the skills a scrum-half needs – the skill, the power, the mental strength, the aura around the team. 

“For all the players who played with him he was very positive and important.

“He is a legend for world rugby, for South African rugby, of course, but also for all the scrum-halves who had the chance to watch him play.

“He was as fast as a winger, he was powerful like a flanker and he had very good scrum-half skills, so he was a very modern scrum-half and we are so sad to see him go.”