Bokdle #27: 28 Oct 2026

The mystery green and gold player on 28 Oct 2026 was Chester Williams: Test player #589 · Wing · 27 caps · 14 tries · 1× World Cup winner · School: Klein Nederburg Secondary School.

Chester Williams, "The Black Pearl", was the wing whose face became a symbol of the 1995 World Cup and of a new South Africa. Born in Paarl in August 1970, he played his provincial rugby for Western Province from 1991, wearing number 11, at a time when rugby was only beginning to open up after apartheid.

A Springbok in a changing country

When he made his Test debut against Argentina in Buenos Aires in November 1993, aged 23, Williams became the first player of colour picked for the Springboks since Errol Tobias and his own uncle, Avril Williams, in the early 1980s. He scored a try on debut in a 52–23 win. Williams identified as coloured, and was the only player of colour in the 1995 World Cup squad.

1995

Injury ruled him out of the World Cup squad at first, but he was recalled during the tournament, and in the quarter-final against Western Samoa he scored four tries. He played in the semi-final and in the final at Ellis Park, where South Africa beat New Zealand 15–12. His story was later told in the film Invictus, in which he was played by McNeil Hendricks and worked as a rugby coach on set.

Injuries, and a title with the Lions

Knee injuries held him back in 1996 and 1997. He won the 1998 Tri Nations, though only from the bench, and the 1999 Currie Cup with the Golden Lions, also playing Super Rugby for the Cats. His last Test was a win over Wales in Cardiff in November 2000. He finished with 27 Tests and 14 tries.

Coaching

Williams coached the South Africa Sevens team to bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, then the Cats, South Africa A and the Pumas, and spent time coaching Uganda. In 2017 he led the University of the Western Cape to the Varsity Shield title.

Remembered

He carried the Olympic torch in Athens in 2004 and Rio in 2016. Williams died in Cape Town in September 2019, aged 49, from a suspected heart attack.

Test record

From bokhist.com's Test-by-Test list:

• Springbok number: 589
• Debut: 13 November 1993, aged 23, on the left wing against Argentina at Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires (won 52–23)
• Last Test: 26 November 2000, aged 30, off the bench against Wales at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (won 23–13)
• Tests: 27: 20 starts and 7 off the bench
• Results: 20 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses, a winning rate of 74%
• Starts by position: left wing 18, right wing 2
• Most often played against: New Zealand (6 Tests)

Sources: bokhist.com, en.wikipedia.org

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