The Irish team met up with legendary Springboks scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen today

THE BUILD-UP TO Ireland vs South Africa this week has been full of mutual respect that has almost been bromantic, especially between legendary second rows Paul O’Connell and Victor Matfield.

There was another example of the strong rapport between the two nations today as the Irish team hosted all-time great Springbok scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen for lunch.

Van der Westhuizen is suffering from Motor Neurons Disease and is working with his J9 foundation to try and raise awareness for the disease.

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

It is great to see the Irish team pay respect to such a legend of the game who is going through a really tough time.

For those of you who are too young to remember van der Westhuizen in his prime, here he is undertaking rugby’s most impossible task: tackling Jonah Lomu.

Source: Ruddy Darter/YouTube

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