Wilkinson 'feared' and will 'miss' Joost

Cape Town - Tributes for Joost van der Westhuizen have poured in from near and far, from some of rugby's greatest players - none more so than England's Jonny Wilkinson.

Wilkinson, like Van der Westhuizen a Rugby World Cup winner (in 2003), took to Twitter to pay tribute to "a guy he feared, respected and will miss deeply."

Wilkinson represented England on 91 occasions and the British & Irish Lions in six matches.

Van der Westhuizen passed away on Monday aged 45, after losing his nearly six-year long battle with motor neuron disease (MND).

Van der Westhuizen, who was diagnosed with the illness 2011, played 89 Tests for the Springboks between 1993 and 2003.

He scored a then-Springbok record 38 tries and is widely regarded as one of the game’s finest-ever scrumhalves.

Joost Van Der Westhuizen. A guy I feared as an opponent, respected hugely as a player and will miss deeply as a very courageous human being.

— Jonny Wilkinson (@JonnyWilkinson) February 6, 2017