James Small

A Greenside schoolboy, a Transvaal wing, a World Cup winner at Ellis Park. James Small's story begins and ends in Johannesburg.

On 24 June 1995, the most feared runner in world rugby lined up opposite a 26-year-old South African wing at Ellis Park. Jonah Lomu had run four tries through England a week earlier. In the World Cup final he scored none.

The man standing in his channel that afternoon was James Small. He was raised in Johannesburg, schooled at Greenside High and made by Transvaal, and he did his finest work on the Lions' home ground.

Greenside High: speed first, rugby second

Small came to rugby late and almost by accident. At Greenside High School in Johannesburg he was first a sprinter. At 16 he earned Transvaal athletics colours over 100m and 400m, and he was later offered an athletics place at San Diego State University. His family could not afford to send him.

Football came before rugby too. A row with a referee got him banned from the school football field, so he took his pace to the rugby pitch. He went on to play for Transvaal Schools at Craven Week and was picked for the South African Schools side.

For every Greenside pupil who arrives thinking rugby belongs to the traditional powerhouse schools, Small is the counter-argument. A Greenside athlete became a Springbok record-breaker.

A Transvaal product

Small did not go to university, but he played club rugby for Wits. At 18 he was in the Transvaal senior side, the union the Lions descend from. He played 64 times for Transvaal, mostly under coach Harry Viljoen. It was as a Transvaal wing that he won his first Springbok cap in 1992.

In 1993 he followed Viljoen to Natal, and later had a season with Western Province. He came home in 1998 to the renamed Golden Lions, and in 1999 he played Super 12 rugby for the Cats, the joint franchise the Lions anchored. Injury ended his career that year.

He started and finished with the Lions. Between those years he became South Africa's leading Test try scorer.

Ellis Park, start to finish

Small's Test career opened and peaked at Ellis Park. His debut in August 1992 was against the All Blacks, in the Springboks' first Test after their return to international rugby. Three years later he won the World Cup on the same field.

He was the right wing in all four of his 1995 World Cup matches, against Australia, Romania, France and New Zealand. In the final his job was Lomu, and the Springboks held him scoreless in a 15–12 win. He also scored Test tries at Ellis Park against France in 1993, Samoa in 1995 and Wales in 1995.

He was the leading try scorer in the 1996 Super 12. His final Test was against Scotland at Murrayfield in December 1997. His two tries that day took him to 20 and past Danie Gerber's Springbok record.

Fire, flaws and a lasting legacy

Small played on the edge, and sometimes over it. In 1993 against Australia he became the first Springbok ever sent off, for dissent. He later said he had let people down, and he never pretended to be easy to manage.

In later life he was candid about his regrets. He said he had not known how to handle the money and fame of the professional era, and he wished someone had managed his career. He worked in property, restaurants, coaching and commentary. During the hardest stretch of his life, Nelson Mandela phoned him personally, and Small said that call helped him see his troubles in proportion.

He died of a heart attack in Johannesburg on 10 July 2019, aged 50. Former Springboks gathered for his memorial at the Wanderers rugby field, and the South African Rugby Legends Association raised funds for his family. Rugby nations around the world, including New Zealand, paid tribute.

The Lions claim him because he was a Johannesburg wing first and last. Greenside claims him because his pace was found there.