Ruben Kruger, a member of the 1995 World Cup-winning team, has died after a long battle with brain cancer, South African rugby union officials announced today.
The former Springboks flanker died yesterday at the age of 39. He had been fighting the disease for a decade, since a tumour was discovered in 2000 after he blacked out during a game. An initial operation to remove the tumour was believed to have been a success, only for it to resurface several years later.
In 2009 Kruger fell ill while on holiday with his family, resulting in a five-hour operation in which surgeons removed 90% of a tumour “the size of a man’s fist”. He was admitted to hospital earlier this week after feeling unwell.
Kruger was South Africa’s Player of the Year in 1995, when he helped lead the team to a World Cup victory which helped bring together whites and blacks as the country emerged from the divisions of the apartheid era.
“Apart from his rugby-playing abilities, he has been a superb human being and everyone that knew him will surely miss him in the months and years to come,” said a statement from the Blue Bulls, one of his former clubs.
Oregan Hoskins, the president of the South African Rugby Union, said when Kruger was on the field, “you always knew that the Springboks would not be beaten without a tremendous battle”. Kruger is survived by his wife and two daughters.
