He doesn’t claim that it’s his first rugby memory. It’s simply his first memory.
Jonah Lomu had just sliced inside two would-be tacklers and the field opened up before him.
World Cup final glory was at the end of his run and it seemed like no-one could stop him once he built up a head of steam.
Except South Africa scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen, who died on Monday aged 45 after a battle with Motor Neuron Disease, didn’t see it like that.
The giant New Zealander had come into the 1995 World Cup final with a path of destruction and a host of trampled-down defenders in his wake.
England captain Will Carling called him a “freak” and he had seven tries to his name, including two against Ireland, by the time they faced the Springboks in the decider.
But van der Westhuizen lined Lomu up and stopped the move with a text-book tackle. It was a defining moment in South Africa’s famous 15-12 win.
CJ Stander was just five years old.
“I think my first memory was him taking down Jonah Lomu in that game,” Stander told RTÉ Radio's Michael Corcoran.
“It was an unbelievable tackle, it just shows what you can do with your body.
“He’s been my hero from childhood. When you grow up and you see guys like that play [like that].
“He just decided he doesn’t have respect for his body, he’s just going to take this guy down and [his death] is a tough one to take.
“[He was] fearless, he brought a lot to the game, physicality and a lot of skill, a mixture of both.”
When Stander made his debut for the Bulls in South Africa in 2010, it was the 89-times capped scrum-half and former Bulls stalwart who marked the special occasion.
“He gave me my first jersey presentation for my first senior start for the Bulls when I was in South Africa and I had a good connection with him from there on,” said the Ireland back row forward.
“It just puts life in perspective for me, really just to enjoy it.”
After his diagnosis in 2011, Van der Westhuizen set up the J9 Foundation to raise funds for awareness of MND and support for families.
“He meant a lot to a lot of people and a lot of players," added Stander.
"He gave a lot to rugby and in general and he’s going to be sadly missed. My thoughts are with him and the family.
“It’s going to be a tough time and luckily he’s in a better place and he can rest peacefully now.
“The stories I’ve heard about him, he worked hard to make sure he was the best in his position and in the team. He’s given a lot back to rugby in general and a lot of people afterwards with the work he did.
“It just shows the type of man he was, he was a leader of men and he’s going to be sadly missed.”
“He was happy with himself and happy with life"
Stander reunited with his old friend during Ireland’s trip to South Africa last year.
“We met him in June when we were there for the summer tour.
“I didn’t know if he was going to recognise me. He recognised me and it was tough to see him, the way he looked, the way he went backwards but he was still strong and making jokes with us, it was good to see that.
“He was happy with himself and happy with life and again it just showed his character.
"He knew what was going to happen with him and where he was but he just ploughed on and did his work for other people.”
Stander is in the Ireland camp as Joe Schmidt's side bid to get their Six Nations campaign back on track.
A surprise loss to Scotland has Ireland on the back foot and needing a win in Italy on Saturday (live on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ2).
"We’re always waiting for the next challenge.
"Italy showed us [last] weekend, they came out and played an unbelievable first half and Wales struggled to get points against them.
"We make sure we work on ourselves and improve from where we were on Saturday ‘cos that wasn’t good enough.
"The forwards are...very physical, you know, with [Sergio] Parisse there, physical big guys and they give the ball to the backline and play from there so looking forward to it."
You can hear the full interview with CJ Stander on RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime at 4.55pm.
Live Six Nations coverage of Italy versus Ireland on RTÉ2 from 1.30pm on Saturday (KO 2.25pm) and live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday Sport programme from 2pm.
