The Blue Bulls rugby player and vice-captain who died in a car accident early on Wednesday was to be dropped from the side to play Griquas on Saturday.
According to some of his teammates, rising star Etienne Botha (26) had been sidelined after a loss of form.
The ”shadow line-up” for Saturday’s match was apparently not good news for him, though the team was only expected to be announced at 1pm on Wednesday.
Botha died in a car accident on the N1 north near Pretoria early on Wednesday, a spokesperson at Loftus Versfeld confirmed.
According to police, the vehicle with the Blue Bulls markings veered off the road at about 5am near the Botha Avenue offramp. Inspector Lucas Sithole said the driver was badly injured and died at the scene.
”It appears he lost control of the vehicle, which swerved off the road and rolled,” Sithole said. ”He was alone in the car.”
Botha played centre for the Blue Bulls, and last year scored 18 tries for the side in the Currie Cup. Blue Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer and team manager Wynie Strydom raced to the scene of the accident on Wednesday morning.
Last year, Botha was considered very unlucky not have made Jake White’s Springbok side.
Bok coach Jake White and Meyer were due to meet in Pretoria on Wednesday morning to discuss White’s demand that all Bok players be rested and not be called up for Currie Cup duty.
Botha was born on April 8 1979 in Germiston and played South African Schools in 1997 while a pupil at John Vorster High School in Nigel.
He was capped 40 times for the Falcons and joined Blue Bulls two years ago.
Botha, a professional rugby player, lived in Pretoria. He is the third Blue Bulls player to die in a car accident.
Francois Swart, also a promising player, died after returning from holiday this year. In 1994, fullback Gerbrand Grobler died after the car in which he was travelling collided with an ambulance. — Sapa