Chester Williams
Rugby union player who became the only black member of South Africa’s 1995 World Cup winners
CHESTER WILLIAMS, who has died of a heart attack aged 49, was the only non-white player in the South African squad that won a historic victory over New Zealand in the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In emotional scenes at Ellis Park in Johannesburg that were watched around the world, President Nelson Mandela, sporting a Springbok cap and jersey, presented the Webb Ellis trophy to his fellow countrymen.
It was South Africa’s first appearance at a Rugby World Cup, having been banned from the two previous tournaments because of apartheid. Williams, who had first appeared for the Springboks in 1993, withdrew from the original squad because of injury. But he was recalled for the quarterfinal when the Afrikaner who had taken his place on the wing, Pieter Hendriks, was suspended for taking part in a brawl in a game against Canada.
Williams, known as “the black pearl”, seized his chance, scoring four tries against Western Samoa, a South African record. He held his place for the semi-final and final, which was won by 15 points to 12 after a drop goal in extra time by Joel Stransky.
This highly symbolic victory for a post-apartheid South Africa, the so-called Rainbow Nation, was celebrated in the Clint Eastwood film Invictus, in which Williams was played by Mcneil Hendricks, himself a former Springbok wing three-quarter. Mandela was played by Morgan Freeman and the South African captain, Francois Pienaar, by Matt Damon. Williams coached the actors on the finer points of rugby.
In his autobiography, published in
2002 after he had retired, Williams challenged the portrait of racial unity around the World Cup squad, saying that he had been shunned by white players and given racist nicknames by James Small, who played on the other wing.
Chester Mornay Williams was born on August 8 1970 at Paarl in the Western Cape into a rugby-playing family. His father’s brother, Avril Williams, was the second non-white to win a Springbok cap in the 1980s, following Errol Tobias.
He played 63 times for Western Province between 1991 and 1998, and then joined the Golden Lions, helping them to win the Currie Cup, South Africa’s main domestic competition, in 1999. He also played Super Rugby for the Cats. He was a short but powerful figure with a rapid turn of speed.
His first game for the Springboks was in Buenos Aires, where Argentina were beaten 52-23, Williams scoring a try. In the following year he scored the winning try against Wales in Cardiff. He went on to win 27 caps for South Africa, scoring 14 tries, before being dogged by knee injuries. After the World Cup victory he helped South Africa to beat England at Twickenham. His international career ended in Cardiff in 2000, South Africa beating Wales 23-13.
He then coached the South African Sevens squad (the Blitzbokke), leading them to a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and to second place in the World Sevens series in 2003. There were also stints with the domestic club sides Cats and Mpumalanga Pumas. He was considered for the role of Springbok coach when vacancies arose in 2004 and 2008, but his lack of top-level coaching experience in the 15-man game told against him.
Instead he coached South Africa’s development squad, then went abroad to coach national teams in Uganda and Tunisia. His final role was as coach to the University of the Western Cape, winning the Varsity Shield in 2017.
Williams became a hero to South African sports fans of all hues. He was chosen to carry the torch for his country at two Olympic Games, in Athens in 2004 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“Chessie was an icon,” said Breyton Paulse, another black wing, who followed Williams into the Springbok side, winning 64 caps. “He paved the way for us, especially the guys coming from underprivileged areas. He was a father figure. He is the reason so many players of colour can today walk into the Springbok team.”
State President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “Chester Williams’s death leaves all South Africans bereft of a rugby hero and national role model.”
Of those directly involved in the 1995 final, Williams is the sixth to have died. The others are Small (in July this year, aged 50), Joost van der Westhuizen (in 2016, aged 45), Ruben Kruger (in 2010, aged 39), the Springbok coach Kitch Christie (in 1998, aged 58) and the All Black Jonah Lomu (in 2015, aged 40).
Chester Williams is survived by his wife, the former Maria Robson, and by a son and a daughter.