Hannes Strydom played 21 Tests between 1993 and 1997, starting the 1995 Rugby World Cup final where the home side famously defeated New Zealand 15-12: South African Rugby president Mark Alexander described the loss in statement as a “heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa”

Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom has died in a car accident, South African Rugby confirmed on Monday, the fifth player from their victorious 1995 World Cup team to pass away.

Strydom, 58, was a pharmacist by trade and played 21 Tests between 1993 and 1997. He started the 1995 final where the home side defeated New Zealand 15-12 to take the crown in front of a beaming Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park.

“He was a hard-working lock who never shied away from getting stuck in and doing the dirty work,” SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said in a statement.

“To lose yet another member of the iconic Bok squad from 1995 is a heavy blow to the rugby fraternity here in South Africa.”

Kitch Christie, who coached the team to their title win, passed away from cancer in 1998, as did flanker Ruben Kruger in 2010.

Scrumhalf Joost van der Westhuizen succumbed to motor neurone disease in 2017, and wings Chester Williams and James Small suffered fatal heart attacks within two months of each other in 2019.

South Africa claimed a record fourth World Cup title when beating New Zealand 12-11 in the final of the 2023 tournament in France in October.