He wore his heart on his sleeve. Fearless. A short temper. Emotional. A naughty devil. Playboy. Formidable firebrand. He was notorious. Journalists loved his antics and this talented wing produced them with abandon. James Terence Small – 47 tests, 20 tries. The first South African to be sent from the field with a card. It was 1993 and the South Africans were pitting their strength against Australia. Bosom friend and scrum half Robert du Preez was penalised by the English referee, Ed Morrison, and the visitors were not very happy with the decision. Everyone in the Green and Gold was voicing their unhappiness, with James in the lead. Axed – into the sin bin with him.

Two years later and James and the Springbok team who beat New Zealand in the finals of the 1995 World cup are immortalised as nation builders.

“He was a character and he had a presence in the team. He did not like rules and team codes much, but he could party and his self-confidence was contagious,” remembers Leon Boshoff, Small’s team mate with the Cats.

Small’s wing partner with the Lions and Springboks gets a turn: “I was privileged to play with a number of extremely talented players,” recounts Pieter Hendriks, whose clenched fist in the air after he had given David Campese the run around in the opening match of the 1995 World Cup is an iconic image.

The last pass of the movement before the ball landed in Hendriks’s ready hands came from Small.

“James was just James,” Hendriks laughs. “What he said he did. He was not too philosophical – he lived for the moment. He was a fiery character.”

And then the North-West University (NWU) and Potchefstroom got to know him.

Between 2013 and 2014 James was appointed assistant coach at the NWU and the Leopards under the very same Robert du Preez. In his black jacket, white shirt and black tie James patrolled the sideline like a cantankerous sergeant major. His passion there for the whole world to see.

And this is where he encountered another old ally.

“My path crossed James’s with the Rooibokke under Harry Viljoen (former Springbok coach). My mom and James’s mom always sat together on the stands to watch our rugby games. I think Harry made James the player he would become. He did not put him in a box, he allowed his flair to thrive,” says Hendrik Truter, who later played fullback for the Lions with Small and Pieter Hendriks as wings. Truter was also a marketer for the NWU’s Rugby Institute and was the main guru behind the presentation of the NWU’s home Varsity Cup games.

“I still get goose bumps when I talk about that back triangle with Pieter and James. Pressure-cooker situations brought out the best in James. He would shout: ‘Bring the ball!’. Every Saturday he was 100% switched on, ready to go.”

And yet he needed the assistance of his fullback sometimes for more than facing high balls and battering ram attackers.

“In the beginning James was known for not liking to fly. On flights he always took a seat next to me and I think his fingernails are still engraved on my forearms,” Truter jokes.

Mervyn Taylor, manager of the Rugby Institute, does not hesitate to point out Small’s value in his time at the NWU: “James was one of the guys who fit in with our systems and adjusted to our culture the quickest. He immediately built wonderful relationships with our players and was incredibly loyal.”

On 10 July 2019 Small had used up his life. He died of a heart attack at the age of 50 years. He would have celebrated his birthday on 10 February.

Small is quoted as saying in the late 1990s that his ambition was to be “a footprint and not a footnote” one day. If only he could have known that the world will never forget James Small …

And if you want to find him, if you want to be close to this headstrong playboy himself, make your way to Potchefstroom. And if you are in Potch, find Thabo Mbeki Street. Drive up the street, more or less in the direction of the dam. Turn right into Loop Street. In front of you are the Fanie du Toit sports grounds. Walk to the grandstand and stop in front of it. Look it in the face. On your right there is a trough, a ditch along the sideline. You can see it only if you close your eyes. James created that – walking.

This is also where his footprints lie