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Article: Rugby World Cup: Spiritual leader inspires Springboks Joost van der Westhuizen's South Africans will again be seeking divine guidance today. By David Llewellyn
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 30, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IN THE BEGINNING was the huddle, and at the end also. In between
was as inspired a performance as you could get. The South Africans'
passion, or rather their zeal, reaches at times inspired heights
bordering on the religious. One of the sources of their inspiration
is their captain, Joost van der Westhuizen. Before the quarter-final
against England last weekend he drew his players around him in a
huddle to calm them and prepare for what lay ahead.
"In the huddle what I say to them is quite simple really," says
Van der Westhuizen, who is 28. "Players get over anxious, so it is
just a question of calming them down and saying, `Listen, just
concentrate on what you are doing. The moment you ...