Chester Williams offered hope of a new era for black South African rugby players. That promise has not yet borne out
IT BECAME ONE of the defining images of a new South Africa: Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president, wearing the green-and-gold jersey of the national rugby team and shaking hands with the side’s victorious white captain, Francois Pienaar. Rugby in South Africa may have been viewed as the sport of the white Afrikaner elite, but the Springboks’ victory over New Zealand in the 1995 World Cup united the nation in celebration.
Rugby’s popularity with British soldiers in the 19th century ingrained the idea of its being a sport for South Africa’s white minority. It was mostly played and watched by whites, in particular Afrikaners . After the apartheid government came to power in 1948, the Springboks became a focus for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and abroad. The few black team members were often accused of endorsing the racist status quo. Mr Williams felt these prejudices keenly.
It was hoped that Mr Williams’s role in 1995 might help usher in a new era for black South African rugby. The stirring final scenes of “Invictus”, a film telling the story of the tournament, might have you think so. The team embraces Mr Williams, while South Africans of all races dance onto the streets together. But it wasn’t to be. Mr Williams was dropped before the next World Cup.
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