Linee proudly wore WP jersey

Cape Town - Former Springbok centre Tinus Linee proudly wore his Western Province jersey when they won the Currie Cup final against the Golden Lions late last month.

Linee, 45, died at his home in Paarl on Monday morning after suffering from Motor Neuron Disease for the past 19 months.

His wife, Diana, spoke to Netwerk24 about Linee's last moments.

"He went in such a nice way. There was no anxiety. We still spoke on Sunday. I had something to drink, a Creme Soda. Then he showed he also wanted some, so I gave him some cool drink through a syringe."

Linee was bedridden and breathed with the help of a ventilator. He could also only communicate via a computer which interpreted his eye movements.

But Diana said he was smiling for most parts of Sunday.

"He showed me to put the TV on because he wanted to watch Idols. Later on, we had to put on the generator when the power went out," said Diana, who also revealed how Linee, wearing a WP jersey, watched them beat the Golden Lions 19-16 in the Currie Cup final the previous weekend.

Linee played 112 matches at centre for WP between 1992 and 2001 and will be remembered as a loyal WP player with a no-nonsense approach to defence as displayed by his bone-crunching tackles.

He played nine tour games for the Springboks between 1993 and 1994 but was never capped in a Test.