Chester Williams, a member of the South African world champion in 1995, died Friday at age 49 in Cape Town, victim of a heart attack. The wing entered the history of rugby by becoming the only black player of that team that prevailed in the final to New Zealand (15-12) and that was a symbol of the end of apartheid .

After his debut in 1993, Williams played 27 games with the Springboks, where he scored 14 trials. His most outstanding match came in the aforementioned World Cup in 1995, when he added four trials, a historic record at the time in his selection, in the victory against Samoa in the quarterfinals (42-14).

The image of that legendary tournament was that of Nelson Mandela, touched with the shirt and the Springboks cap, delivering the Webb Ellis cup to Francois Pienaar. However, things were never easy for Williams, excluded in the first instance due to a muscle injury. Kitch Christie had chosen Pieter Hendriks as a substitute, but a two-month Hendriks sanction after a serious brawl during a game against Canada finally opened the team's doors to Williams.

Nicknamed The Black Pearl , his career was truncated by knee injuries in 1996 and 1997. His last match with the national team was completed with a win against Wales in Cardiff (13-23).

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