South African wing who was part of the Springbok team that won the Rugby World Club in 1995In 1994, one year after he had won his first cap for
South Africa and become only the third non-white person to play rugby for the Springboks, Chester Williams, who has died aged 49 following a heart attack, was invited to the home of the country’s new president Nelson Mandela for lunch. The pair talked about the Rugby
World Cup, which South Africa was hosting the following year, and the role the sport could play in helping to unify a nation after the divisiveness of apartheid.
Williams, a wing who rose to the top more through willpower and dedication than innate ability, became the poster boy of the 1995 World Cup, although a hamstring injury he sustained in the build-up against Western Samoa meant he was initially left out of the South Africa squad. He was called up for the knock-out stage after Pieter Hendriks was suspended following a fight during the final group game against Canada. Williams faced the Samoans again, scoring four of his side’s six tries in a 42-14 victory, kept his place in the semi-final against
France and, the only non-white player in the squad, played in the final against
New Zealand at Ellis Park in Johannesburg which the hosts won with a Joel Stransky drop goal in extra time.