Rugby World Cup hero Kobus Wiese is recuperating in a Cape Town hospital after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday.

Wiese‚ who was part of the team that was victorious in the 1995 edition of the tournament‚ was initially admitted to a Paarl hospital but the 56-year old former lock was transferred to the Mediclinic in Panorama in Cape Town's northern suburbs.

According to news reports‚ he underwent a procedure to have an intravascular stent inserted into a narrowed vein.

Close friend and former Springbok teammate Toks van der Linde spoke of Wiese's condition.

“I spoke to Kobus this morning and he’s OK‚” Van der Linde told Netwerk24. “He’s a very big pal of mine. We have been friends since 1995. He is a strong man‚” said Van der Linde.

Wiese who after his playing days turned television presenter and pundit has become a popular member of SuperSport's onscreen line-up.

His temporary absence from their line-up last year was widely bemoaned.

Wiese‚ a behemoth of a man‚ ran out in 18 Tests between 1993 and 1996. He also played 128 matches for Transvaal/Golden Lions.

Wiese is also a successful businessman after entering the coffee trade in 1994.