Joost rated greatest scrumhalf of all time

1995 World Cup-winning scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen has been named in the greatest team to ever play Test rugby from a global poll of more than 200,000 votes.

According to Ruck.co.uk, the BBC ran a poll for the world’s greatest starting XV of all time and after gathering more than 200,000 votes, there were three Springboks who made the cut.

Joining Van der Westhuizen in the team is 1995 captain Francois Pienaar and 2007 World Cup-winning wing Bryan Habana.

The late great Van der Westhuizen played 89 official Test matches for the Springboks between 1993 and 2003. When he retired from Test rugby in 2003, he was South Africa’s record Test-cap holder and record Test try-scorer (38).

Habana would go on to break Van der Westhuizen’s record, dotting down 67 times in his Test career which spanned 124 games.

There was no place in the team for Habana’s 2007 World Cup teammate Schalk Burger, despite the loose forward being described by Richie McCaw and Dan Carter as among the toughest opponents they have faced.

There are seven All Blacks included in the XV, including McCaw, Carter, Jonah Lomu and Zinzan Brooke, while Serge Blanco is France’s only representative at fullback.

Fan’s Greatest-ever XV – 15. Serge Blanco (Fra), 14. Bryan Habana (SA), 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Ire), 12. Ma’a Nonu (NZL), 11. Jonah Lomu (NZL), 10. Dan Carter (NZL), 9. Joost van der Westhuizen (SA), 8. Zinzan Brooke (NZL), 7. Richie McCaw (NZL), 6. Francois Pienaar (SA), 5. John Eales (Aus), 4. Martin Johnson (Eng), 3. Owen Franks (NZL), 2. Sean Fitzpatrick (NZL), 1. Jason Leonard (Eng).

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