Rugby
Former SA prop dies
2013-01-18 10:04
Morne van der Merwe (File)
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Cape Town - Former Western Province and Stormers prop Morne van der Merwe has died after a two-year long battle with cancer. He was 39.
The 124kg front rower played for Eastern Province before he moved to Cape Town to join Western Province and the Stormers, whom he represented in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Western Province Rugby Union (WPRU) confirmed the news on their Facebook page on Friday morning.
They posted:
RIP Morné van der Merwe - our condolences go out to his family and friends - from all at WP Rugby.Current Stormers and Springbok wing added his condolences on Twitter, writing:
Saddened to wake up to the news that Morne van Der Merwe past away this
morning. To Cindy,Josh & Matt you r in our thoughts &
prayers.
Van der Merwe finished his playing career in the colours of Wellington in New Zealand where he packed down with former All Blacks hooker, Norm Hewitt.
“He was a really good man and he was a very, very good prop,” said Hewitt.
“I rate him as one of the top props that I played with in my career and I’m talking the top six or eight. He was a top man, a great team man, and did anything and everything you could want from a player.”
Van der Merwe is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their two children.