Chester Williams
Encyclopedia
Chester Mornay Williams (born 8 August 1970 in Paarl
, Western Province
, South Africa
) is a former South African rugby union rugby player. He played as a winger for the Springboks
from 1993 to 2000. Williams also played rugby for the Western Province
in the Currie Cup
.
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". Williams was selected in the initial squad, but had withdrew due to injury. He was later called back into the squad and first played in the quarter final, scoring 4 tries.
Nelson Mandela
used South Africa's win in the World Cup to his advantage in progressing political and racial harmony in the country. Clint Eastwood
directed Invictus
, which is about the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how it helped South Africa heal after years of apartheid. It features many scenes involving Chester, including his face on the side of an SAA airplane and several scenes showing how black children in South Africa idolized him. Chester Williams is listed as one of the film's Rugby Coaches in the end credits. He is portrayed by McNeil Hendricks
in the film.
Williams is only 1.74 metres (5 feet, 8 in) tall with a playing weight of 84 kilograms (185 pounds), a small man by rugby standards. 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. The selection of non-white players was not common in South Africa before 1992 because of the country's policy of apartheid.
He made his debut for the Springboks at the age of 23 against Argentina
on the 13th of November 1993 in Buenos Aires
, a game that the Springboks went on to win 52-23 and in which he also scored a try. Williams was on the Springboks team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup
, notably scoring four tries 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 the 26th of November 2000 in Cardiff
. In total he played 27 games for the Springboks, scoring 14 tries. His honours included a Currie Cup win in 1999, with the Golden Lions
, formally Transvaal Rugby Union, a Tri-Nations title in 1998 albeit he only made two short appearances as substitute and the World Cup win in 1995.
In 2001 Williams was selected as the coach of the South African sevens team
that won bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and ended runners up in the World Sevens Series
. He remained sevens coach until 2003.
Also in 2002 Williams released his controversial autobiography, simply titled "Chester", in which he claimed that he was shunned by some of his team mates in the 1995 Springbok squad and even called him racist names.
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 Rudolph Straeuli
after he resigned in 2003, but when the job was given to Jake White
in 2004 he became coach of the Cats
Super 12
team instead. He remained coach until July 2005 when he was fired after a series of extremely 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).
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.
He was one of the four named candidates to replace Jake White
as Springbok coach. On 9 January 2008, Peter de Villiers
was appointed as the next coach.
He was also one of the few South Africans invited to carry the Olympic torch in 2004 on its way to Athens
.
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...
, Western Province
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) is a former South African rugby union rugby player. He played as a winger for the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
from 1993 to 2000. Williams also played rugby for the Western Province
Western Province (rugby team)
DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The team has won the Currie Cup on 32 occasions and has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team...
in the Currie Cup
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
.
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". Williams was selected in the initial squad, but had withdrew due to injury. He was later called back into the squad and first played in the quarter final, scoring 4 tries.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
used South Africa's win in the World Cup to his advantage in progressing political and racial harmony in the country. Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
directed Invictus
Invictus (film)
Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World...
, which is about the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how it helped South Africa heal after years of apartheid. It features many scenes involving Chester, including his face on the side of an SAA airplane and several scenes showing how black children in South Africa idolized him. Chester Williams is listed as one of the film's Rugby Coaches in the end credits. He is portrayed by McNeil Hendricks
McNeil Hendricks
McNeil Hendricks , also known as "Maccie", is a former South African rugby union player who played primarily as a wing. He starred in the movie Invictus, in which he played the role of Chester Williams.-Life and career:...
in the film.
Williams is only 1.74 metres (5 feet, 8 in) tall with a playing weight of 84 kilograms (185 pounds), a small man by rugby standards. He was the first non-white player to be included in the Springboks squad since Errol Tobias
Errol Tobias
Errol George Tobias is a former South African rugby union footballer, the first Coloured man to start a test for the South African national side. He gained six caps 1981-1984 when the country was still following the policy of apartheid. He was born on a farm outside Caledon in the Overberg...
and his uncle Avril Williams
Avril Williams
Avril Percy Williams is a former rugby union wing who was the second black man to play for South Africa. He gained two caps in June 1984, both against England. His nephew Chester Williams later played for the Springboks too.-References:...
in the early 1980s. The selection of non-white players was not common in South Africa before 1992 because of the country's policy of apartheid.
He made his debut for the Springboks at the age of 23 against Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
on the 13th of November 1993 in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, a game that the Springboks went on to win 52-23 and in which he also scored a try. Williams was on the Springboks team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
, notably scoring four tries against Western Samoa
Samoa Rugby Football Union
The Samoa Rugby Union are the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa. They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Tonga....
in the quarter finals. His Boks career, hampered by knee injuries in 1996 and 1997, ended with a 23-13 win against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
on the 26th of November 2000 in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. In total he played 27 games for the Springboks, scoring 14 tries. His honours included a Currie Cup win in 1999, with the Golden Lions
Golden Lions
The Golden Lions is a provincial rugby team based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The team was originally known as Transvaal, before changes to the political landscape in South Africa forced a name change to the Gauteng Lions, before again being changed to the Golden Lions. For sponsorship reason...
, formally Transvaal Rugby Union, a Tri-Nations title in 1998 albeit he only made two short appearances as substitute and the World Cup win in 1995.
In 2001 Williams was selected as the coach of the South African sevens team
South Africa national rugby union team (sevens)
The South African national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Current squad:2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series 14-man squad :#Cecil Afrika...
that won bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and ended runners up in the World Sevens Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
. He remained sevens coach until 2003.
Also in 2002 Williams released his controversial autobiography, simply titled "Chester", in which he claimed that he was shunned by some of his team mates in the 1995 Springbok squad and even called him racist names.
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 Rudolph Straeuli
Rudolph Straeuli
Rudolph August Wilkens Straeuli played rugby union in the positions of flanker and Number 8 for, and later coached, the Springboks rugby team. He also played for the Lions provincial team in the Currie Cup competition...
after he resigned in 2003, but when the job was given to Jake White
Jake White
Jake White is a rugby union coach and former coach of the South Africa national rugby union team, the Springboks. His most notable achievements as coach include leading the Springboks to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations title...
in 2004 he became coach of the Cats
Lions (rugby franchise)
The Lions, known as the Cats between the 1998 and 2006 seasons, are a South African rugby union franchise that competes in the Super Rugby competition. From 2011 they are known as the MTNLions for sponsorship reasons. They have not achieved great success in this competition, finishing at the bottom...
Super 12
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
team instead. He remained coach until July 2005 when he was fired after a series of extremely 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).
He was named as the new coach of the Pumas
Pumas (rugby team)
The Ford Pumas are a South African rugby union team that competes in the Premier Division of the 2011 Currie Cup. Based at Puma Stadium in Witbank as well as the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, the team draws their players from Mpumalanga Province .The Pumas won the Currie Cup First Division The...
, the team representing Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
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.
He was one of the four named candidates to replace Jake White
Jake White
Jake White is a rugby union coach and former coach of the South Africa national rugby union team, the Springboks. His most notable achievements as coach include leading the Springboks to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri Nations title...
as Springbok coach. On 9 January 2008, Peter de Villiers
Peter de Villiers
Peter de Villiers is a South African rugby union coach who is the coach of the South Africa national rugby union team. After his successes with South African U19 and U21 squads, de Villiers was named as the coach of South Africa's national team, the Springboks in January 2008, the first-ever...
was appointed as the next coach.
He was also one of the few South Africans invited to carry the Olympic torch in 2004 on its way to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.