Chester Williams

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This article is about the South African rugby union footballer. For other uses, see Chester Williams (disambiguation).

Chester Williams
Chester Williams in 2018
Birth nameChester Mornay Williams
Date of birth(1970-08-08)8 August 1970
Place of birthPaarl, South Africa
Date of death6 September 2019(2019-09-06) (aged 49)
Place of deathCape Town, South Africa
Weight84 kg (13 st 3 lb)
Notable relative(s)Avril Williams (uncle)
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Wing
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1991–1998
1999
Western Province
Golden Lions
 63 -
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
1999–2000
Cats
 18 (35)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1993–2000 South Africa 27 (70)
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
1993–2001 South Africa 11
Coaching career
Years Team
2001–2003
2004–2005
2006
2007-2006
2007–2012
2012–2013
RCM Timişoara

Chester Mornay Williams (8 August 1970 – 6 September 2019)

Western Province in the Currie Cup
.

After retiring, Williams pursued a career in coaching, including a spell with the South Africa national rugby sevens team, the Uganda national rugby union team, and the University of the Western Cape. He was portrayed by McNeil Hendricks in the 2009 Clint Eastwood film Invictus, a biographical sports drama film about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and he also helped to coach Matt Damon and other actors for the rugby scenes used in the film. Williams died from a suspected heart attack on 6 September 2019 at the age of 49.

Playing career

International

Williams is best known as the star winger of the South Africa national Springbok team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup against New Zealand and was nicknamed "The Black Pearl".[2] Williams was selected in the initial squad, but had to withdraw due to injury. He was later called back into the squad and played in the quarter-final, scoring four tries,[2] followed by the semi-final and the final against New Zealand, which South Africa won 15–12.[3]

Williams was 1.74 metres (5 feet 9 inches) tall with a playing weight of 84 kilograms (185 lb). He was the first non-white player to be included in the Springboks squad since Errol Tobias and his uncle Avril Williams in the early 1980s.[4] The selection of non-white players was not common in South Africa before 1992 because of the country's policy of apartheid, and there were separate governing bodies for whites, blacks, and coloureds.[5]

He made his debut for the Springboks at the age of 23 against

Western Samoa in the quarter-finals. His Boks career, hampered by knee injuries in 1996 and 1997, ended with a 23–13 win against Wales on 26 November 2000 in Cardiff. In total he played 27 games for the Springboks, scoring 14 tries and a total of 70 points.[6] His honours included a Currie Cup win in 1999, with the Golden Lions,[2] a Tri-Nations title in 1998 (albeit that he only made two short appearances as substitute)[7] and the World Cup win in 1995.[2]

Provincial

Domestically, Williams played rugby with the

Western Province, appearing 63 times between 1991 and 1998, wearing jersey number 11. He then went on to win the Currie Cup with the Golden Lions in 1999.[2]

Test history

 

World Cup Final

No. Opposition Result
(SA 1st)		 Position Tries Date Venue
1.  Argentina 52–23
Wing
 1 13 Nov 1993
Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium
, Buenos Aires
2.  England 15–32 Wing 4 Jun 1994 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
3.  England 27–9 Wing 11 Jun 1994 Newlands, Cape Town
4.  New Zealand 14–22 Wing 9 Jul 1994 Carisbrook, Dunedin
5.  New Zealand 9–13 Wing 23 Jul 1994 Athletic Park, Wellington
6.  New Zealand 18–18 Wing 6 Aug 1994 Eden Park, Auckland
7.  Argentina 42–22 Wing 1 8 Oct 1994
Boet Erasmus Stadium
, Port Elizabeth
8.  Argentina 46–26 Wing 1 15 Oct 1994 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
9.  Scotland 34–10 Wing 1 19 Nov 1994 Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10.  Wales 20–12 Wing 1 26 Nov 1994 Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
11.  Samoa 60–8 Wing 2 13 Apr 1995 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
12.  Samoa 42–14 Wing 4 10 Jun 1995 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
13.  France 19–15 Wing 17 Jun 1995 Kings Park, Durban
14.  New Zealand 15–12 Wing
24 Jun 1995
 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
15.  Italy 40–21 Wing 12 Nov 1995 Stadio Olimpico, Rome
16.  England 24–14 Wing 2 18 Nov 1995 Twickenham, London
17.  Australia 14–13 Substitute 18 July 1998 Subiaco Oval, Perth
18.  New Zealand 13–3 Substitute 25 July 1998 Athletic Park, Wellington
19.  Canada 51–18 Substitute 10 Jun 2000
Basil Kenyon Stadium
, East London
20.  England 18–13 Substitute 17 Jun 2000 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
21.  England 22–27 Substitute 24 Jun 2000 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
22.  Australia 23–44 Substitute 8 Jul 2000
Colonial Stadium
, Melbourne
23.  New Zealand 46–40 Wing 1 19 Aug 2000 Ellis Park, Johannesburg
24.  Australia 18–19 Wing 16 Aug 2000 Kings Park, Durban
25.  Argentina 37–33 Wing 12 Nov 2000
River Plate Stadium
, Buenos Aires
26.  Ireland 28–18 Wing 19 Nov 2000 Lansdowne Road, Dublin
27.  Wales 23–13 Substitute 16 Nov 2000 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Biography

In 2002, Williams released his controversial authorised biography, simply titled Chester, in which he claimed that he was shunned by some of his team mates in the 1995 Springbok squad and was called racist names by

James Small,[8] though he later clarified, "When we were together as a team, the team-spirit was good. We partied together, we had fun together, we stuck by one another. Those other things happened while we were playing against one another in the Currie Cup or domestic competitions. But that's in the past now. We have all moved on and everybody's happy."[9]

Mark Andrews had attracted more attention than Williams as he was able to speak Xhosa.[10] Williams himself worked as one of the film's rugby coaches, alongside Dubai-based coach Rudolf de Wee, a childhood friend whom he recruited to the film. Williams and de Wee worked with the actors, including Matt Damon, in recreating the games depicted in the film.[11]

Williams was selected to carry the

Olympic torch on behalf of South Africa on two occasions, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[12]

In 2010, Williams completed the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike stage race, joining several former Springbok Rugby players who have also taken on the rugged challenge of the Untamed African MTB Race.[13]

Williams died on 6 September 2019, at the age of 49, from a suspected heart attack.

James Small, the last having died two months before Williams.[15]

Coaching career

In 2001 Williams was selected as the coach of the

World Sevens Series. He remained sevens coach until 2003.[16]

Despite having almost no experience at coaching the fifteen-man code at any senior level, Williams was mentioned as one of the possible successors to Springbok coach

Cats Super 12 team instead. He remained coach until July 2005 when he was fired after a series of poor results, when the Cats finished next-to-last in the 2005 super 12, achieving only one victory. However, in 2006, he was brought back into the South African coaching ranks as the head coach of the national "A" side (a developmental side for the Boks).[17] Also in 2006, he spent a successful few months as coach of the Uganda national rugby union team, the Cranes.[18]

He was named as the new coach of the Pumas, the team representing Mpumalanga in the Currie Cup, on 7 September 2006. He signed a two-year deal with the team, effective 1 October 2006, but resigned as coach in mid-2007. When White stepped down as the national coach in 2008, Williams was again in the running to replace him, but the job instead went to Peter de Villiers.[13]

Williams lastly was head coach of University of the Western Cape in Varsity Rugby. Under his leadership UWC won the 2017 Varsity Shield competition.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Springbok legend Chester Williams dies". Spiort24. News24. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "WP Rugby pay tribute to 'icon' Chester Williams". Sport24. 7 September 2019.
  3. ^ Daniel Schofield (6 September 2019). "Former South Africa winger and 1995 World Cup winner Chester Williams dies, aged 49". The Daily Telegraph.
  4. ^ Patrick McPartlin (6 September 2019). "Chester Williams, 1995 Rugby World Cup hero and former South Africa wing, dies at 49". The Scotsman.
  5. ISBN 0-304-30299-6
    .
  6. ^ "Chester Williams", ESPN
  7. Independent Online
    .
  8. ISBN 1-86806-209-0
    .
  9. ^ "Chester Williams: Win of change". Gulfnews.com. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2013.[dead link]
  10. ^ Alex von Tunzelmann (3 October 2013). "Invictus: better on Nelson Mandela than rugby". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Melanie Swan (19 March 2010). "Man who taught Matt Damon rugby now teaches in the UAE". The National.
  12. ^ "Chester to carry Olympic torch for SA". Sport24. 13 May 2016.
  13. ^ a b c Luke Daniel (6 September 2019). "Springbok legend Chester Williams dies at age 49". The South African.
  14. ^ Jack de Menezes (6 September 2019). "Chester Williams death: South African rugby great dies of suspected heart attack, aged 49". The Independent.
  15. ^ "Chester Williams: South Africa World Cup winner dies aged 49". BBC Sport. 6 September 2019.
  16. ^ Grant Shub (8 December 2017). "Chester Williams chats to Sport24". Sport24.
  17. ^ News | Rugby News Archived 9 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Rugby coach Chester Williams quits". New Vision. 15 September 2006.
  19. ^ Mariette Adams (10 April 2017). "UWC crowned Varsity Shield champs". SA Rugby Mag.

External links

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