Sport
Daniel Joseph " Dan " Vickerman( 4 June 1979 – 18 February 2017)
In 2001, Vickerman was contracted by the Brumbies and made his debut that season in a Super 12 match against the Sharks in Durban. He played a total of seven Super 12 games that season. In 2002, he was selected to play for Australia A in Canada that year. He went on to make his test debut that year in Sydney in a match against France. In 2006 he started in all but one match for the Waratahs. Although missing most of the 2007 Super 14 season through injury recovery,[ 6 ] Vickerman returned to the Test scene in a test match against Wales coming off the bench,[ 8 ] and cemented his place back in the Wallaby starting line up for the Wallabies 2007 Rugby WorldCup squad. He raised his 50th Test cap against Wales during the 2007 World Cup, but managed just three appearances during the 2008 international because of another shoulder injury. He captained Cambridge to a 31 – 27 victory over eternal rival Oxford. He returned to Australia in 2011 to play again for the Waratahs and press his claims for national selection. He was chosen in the Wallabies team. A persistent injury problem with stress fractures in the tibia of his right leg forced his retirement from the game in 2012.
34 The MAG Vung Tau
Joost Heystek van der Westhuizen( 20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017)
Many an accolade has already been written and fine spoken words on the passing of this iconic rugby player. A great rugby player, a legend of the game, a Hall-of-famer and one of the greats both for South Africa and world rugby. He played 89 games, captained ten time and scored 39 tries for his country. He was also the first Spring Bok to play 100 game. Joost bought a professional attitude in an amateur era, which was a hall mark of his game on the field. He spent his playing career as a scrum-half( half back), standing 6 ft 2 ins, and unusually tall height for a player for this position. His game was known for finding and penetrating the tiniest gaps in opposition defences, his willingness to go forward and join in attack, he played with savage aggression and a fearlessness that aided his team greatly, often producing heroic and result-defining tackles.
I shall always remember watching the 1995 rugby world cup, for his grand tackle on the late Jonah Lomu, which assisted in South Africa winning their first Webb Ellis Cup. May his great rugby legacy be a pillar of strength for future South African players and teams and never forgotten by world rugby.
Sione Tuitupu Lauaki( 22 June 1981 – 12 February 2017)
In February another ex All Black passed away suddenly from illness. Sione was a Tongan born rugby player, a formidable running forward athlete at 6 foot 4 inches weighing 18 stone. He had versatile ability to play positions of both loose forward and number eight. Such size on the field this made him a great ball carrier and fearsome tackler.
During his career Sione played for a combined Pacific Island team in 2004, he scored tries against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, a rather unique achievement. He was capped seventeen times for the All Blacks, playing from 2005- 2008, scoring three tries. He played all three winning games for the All Blacks against the touring British and Lions team in 2005. Sione was also stalwart of the Chiefs franchise playing 70 games in a career spanning 6 years from 2004, scoring 14 tries. He left New Zealand in 2010 to continue his playing career in France. During his playing time for Bayonne in 2012, a routine medical test had him diagnosed with renal failure and cardiovascular problems. Sione was released from his contract at Bayonne and returned to New Zealand. The 25 year old passed away from reported kidney failure.