Dearnaley mourns death of another childhood teammate: he played with Small‚ Batchelor‚ Shaw

Former AmaZulu striker George Dearnaley says it has been surreal and unnerving to realise three high-profile members of his Southern Transvaal under-12 team have died following Nicky Shaw's death on the weekend.

Former Dynamos‚ Kaizer Chiefs and Pretoria City striker Shaw died on Saturday at his home in Fourways‚ Johannesburg‚ aged 51.

For Dearnaley, that brought about the realisation that three of his childhood provincial teammates,  all of whom went on to bigger things‚ have died within 18 months of each other.

Springbok 1995 Rugby World Cup-winner James Small died of a heart attack after he was found unconscious in a Bedfordview gentleman’s club on July 10 2019.

Former Orlando Pirates‚ Chiefs and SuperSport United striker Marc Batchelor was gunned down in his car outside his home in Olivedale just five days later‚ on July 15 last year‚ aged 49.

Dearnaley‚ who earned three caps for Bafana Bafana in the 1990s‚ said the death Shaw, a third player in that provincial U-12 team, left him reeling.

“In that squad there was a guy named Ivan McKinley who played in the US and got a Bafana cap‚ and there was also John Cox who turned pro at Portsmouth. It was a hell of a squad‚” Dearnaley said.

“You’ve just known the guys for that long. Not that we were close. I bumped into James Small about 10 years ago in Hout Bay.

“He made eye contact and I said: ‘Howzit James‚ I don’t know if you remember me?’ You almost assume the guy has gone on to be a superstar‚ but he was like, ‘Ja‚ George‚ we used to play together – how’re you doing?’‚ and big hug and all that type of stuff.

“Me and Nicky played together at that level. I hadn’t seen him for a few years‚ and then suddenly we were all pros and playing against each other. Then I was probably much closer to ‘Batch’ than the other guys.

“I did send Nicky a message last week for his birthday to say‚ ‘Happy Birthday old man‚ just a couple of months younger than me’. And he replied with a big smiley face and‚ ‘George‚ you old bugger‚ you’re older than me’‚ and all that kind of thing.

“That was on Wednesday last week. Then I heard on the weekend that he’d died.

“It’s almost surreal. I was quite depressed about it. Again‚ not that we spoke every week‚ but it’s a part of your childhood. It’s a reminder how fragile life is.

“It’s sad. From my squad – I don’t think we had many subs in those days‚ so probably 15 of them – that’s three of them gone‚ and three who took their sport to the highest level.”

With notoriously rough rugby winger Small and aggressive football striker Batchelor – both of whom were characters known for tempers and controversies on and off the field – Dearnaley’s U-12s could have been quite some ruffian side.

Dearnaley’s recollection is that the legend regarding Small‚ then about 16‚ was that he was suspended – leading to him turning more to rugby – for punching a heckling adult spectator in a club match.

“ James was actually a formidable football player because he was bigger and faster than everyone‚” Dearnaley, 51, said.

“He was a defender then so you couldn’t out-run him. If you turned it into a 50/50 he was probably going to win that as well.

“He was a central defender and I was played right-back in that team. Nicky and Batch were the two strikers.

“We won the inter-provincial tournament in Pretoria. It was a really good junior side.

“For Batch‚ a lot of guys will tell you there was a different side to him. He was an aggressive striker‚ and obviously after his career became involved with rough and tough people.

“But a heart of gold‚ would give you the shirt off his back‚ was always there for his mates and his teammates‚ and you couldn’t ask for more in a teammate.”