Fabian McCarthy was on hand on Tuesday to console his friend and Blue Bulls rugby player - Teegan Fredericks. Teegan is a cousin of former Amakhosi midfielder Stanton Fredericks, who lost his teammate Etienne Botha.

Botha’s car veered off the road on the N1 highway near Centurion outside Pretoria in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The 26-year-old Botha, a phenomenal player, (once been dubbed the new Francois Pienaar) has already been noted as perhaps the best player never to play for the Springboks.

His parents Hennie and Marika as well as his sister Sonelle survive him. McCarthy commenting on the tragedy said: “As soccer players we understood what it was like to lose a colleague when Lesley Manyathela passed away two years back.

"At that time it was evident soccer would be robbed of a great talent. Once again South Africa has lost a promising sports man who could have done wonders to uplift the spirits of sports fans in the country”.

Kaizer Chiefs would like to send its condolences to the Botha family as well as all of Etienne colleagues at the Blue Bulls.