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South African Rugby Legends Association (SARLA) has expressed their sadness at the passing of Tinus Linee, who
succumbed to Motor Neuron Disease (MND) on Monday morning at the age of 45.
GALLERY: RIP TINUS LINEE
Renowned as a hard-hitting
centre, he received 112 caps in the blue and white striped jersey between 1992-2001. He was part of the winning Absa Currie Cup squad
for WP in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
He was selected as part of the Springbok squad in 1993 and 1994 touring to Australia, Argentina and the UK, playing mainly the mid-week tour games.
“I
remember playing against Tinus at the start of my career. “, said SARLA CEO
Stefan Terblanche.
“Watching him come
at you, you knew you were in for a hard
crunching tackle, if you didn’t get past him.
Linee continued to be involved in rugby following his retirement, and was a great supporter of SARLA, playing in classics matches both here and abroad, especially at the World Rugby Classics in Bermuda. He also gave of his time to SARLA in helping at development clinics.
“Tinus was always available to help SARLA in any way”, said Terblanche, “he believed it was important to share his knowledge in helping to develop tomorrow’s players, and he enjoyed a run on the park with his former teammates, it was always good to have him playing for the SA RUGBY LEGENDS”.
The Legends will honour Linee at the World Rugby Classics this year with a one-minute silence at the start of their first game on Sunday, November 9 as well as “retiring” the No 12 jersey for the tournament out of respect for their former team-mate.
Linee was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 2013, the second former national player after Joost van der Westhuizen, to be afflicted with this disease.
“Knowing the type of expenses Joost had amassed when he was diagnosed, it was a call to arms by South Africa’s incredible sporting community to rally the troops and support Tinus in his time of need”, said SARLA president Gavin Varejes.
“We held a wonderful banquet for him last year, not only to raise funds for his medical expenses, but to honour his contribution to rugby in South Africa”
“In sending our condolences to Tinus’s wife Diana and her family, we also further our commitment in continuing to assist in the fight against MND in whatever way we can”, said Varejes.
