A minute’s silence will be held before all games in the Western Cape this weekend in tribute to the late Springbok and Western Province wing Chester Williams.
Williams suffered a heart attack and is survived by his wife, Maria, and three children, Ryan and twins Matthew and Chloe. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made and will be communicated in due course.
The mercurial wing earned 63 caps for Western Province between 1991 and 1998, putting in countless memorable performances in the blue-and-white hooped No 11 jersey.
Williams made his Springbok debut against Argentina in 1993 and played 27 Tests for South Africa until his last Test, against Wales in 2000, scoring 14 Test tries in the process. In total, he played 47 matches in the green and gold and scored 27 tries.
In 1995, he was a member of the initial Springbok squad for the World Cup, but had to withdraw due to injury shortly before the tournament started. He was later recalled and scored four tries in the quarter-final against Samoa.
Williams was named SA Rugby Player of the Year in 1994. Apart from lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 1995, Williams was also a member of the Springbok squad that won the Tri-Nations in 1998, and he won the Currie Cup with the Golden Lions in 1999.
Following his playing career, Williams turned to coaching and was involved in Western Province Rugby structures, serving as head coach of UWC at the time of his passing and working with the DHL Western Province U21 side this week.
WPRFU president Zelt Marais said that Williams’ passing is a sad moment for anyone who witnessed his contributions to rugby both on and off the field.
‘Chester Williams was an icon of our sport who gave selflessly of himself and will be remembered as one of the greats of the game.
‘Our thoughts are with his family in this difficult time,’ Marais said.
Marais added that the WPRFU and its affiliated clubs will pay tribute to Williams’ memory this weekend.
‘It is fitting that all club games this weekend will observe a minute’s silence, which will give us all an opportunity to reflect on the immense contribution that Chester has made.’
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