Williams well aware of his value

South Africa's one coloured player is part of a national message. But, says Ian Borthwick, not many are getting it

Anyone arriving in South Africa at the beginning of the World Cup could be excused, even before leaving Jan Smuts airport, for thinking that the country's marketing men had made one of the greatest blunders in the history of advertising. The face of one player was plastered everywhere. From 20ft long billboards to the hundreds of metal panels adorning every single luggage trolley at Johannesburg's airport, even on the cute long- visored sun cap distributed to journalists with their media kit. There was the beaming brown face of Chester Williams, Springbok winger and a focus for hope in the new South Africa.

The only problem was that he was out of the World Cup. Williams had pulled a hamstring and been replaced by Pieter Hendriks. If his absence caused some concern in pure rugby terms, it became purely academic after the first match when the Springboks not only beat Australia, but Hendriks himself had a dynamic game.

In other sectors of South African society, however, Williams' absence was a nightmare, as politically and financially he had become a windfall. The focal point of innumerable advertising campaigns, Williams' image had generated millions of pounds in sponsorship. South African Airways, Shell, Jordan shoes, Adidas, and even Steer restaurants peddling their "ranch burgers" all jumped on the Chester bandwagon.

Politically, he was not only a convenient alibi for white South Africa's conscience, but there was also no denying that the presence of a single non-white player, albeit "coloured" rather than black, allowed the Springboks to call themselves multiracial. No wonder that Nelson Mandela, learning of Williams' injury, declared that it was a major loss to South Africa as a whole, adding that he hoped the Western Province winger would still be able to play in the World Cup. From that moment on, it was clear that somehow South Africa would find a way to bring him back into the squad. The ugly brawl in the closing minutes of the South Africa-Canada match proved a blessing. Hendriks was suspended and the brown bombshell, as one South African newspaper calls Williams, promptly ran in four tries in last week's quarter-final, the first of which was greeted by perhaps the loudest, most deep-throated applause from any crowd in this World Cup since the opening game.

Born in Paarl, and educated at the Klein Nederburg High School, Williams is the nephew of Averil Williams, who was only the second coloured player to represent South Africa when he played against England in 1984. Currently a development officer with the Western Province RFU following a career in the army, Chester is softly spoken and unassuming but unaffected by any false modesty. "There are a lot of people who think I am only in the Springboks because of my colour. I can't stop them thinking that but I believe I have proved myself on the field of play over the past two years. I have proved that I am not just there because I am black. I have scored 10 tries in my last six Tests and I think that speaks for itself," he said after training on Thursday.

Williams does not hide from the fact that he is more than just a rugby player. "I know my presence is important for South Africa. Everybody thinks that through me they can see the reunification and that rugby is helping to unify the whole country. I appreciate that but I just take it as it comes. It certainly puts me under more pressure to perform, but as a sportsman I see that added pressure as part of the challenge."

Morne du Plessis, the manager, is also quick to put Williams' qualities as a rugby player first. "He's the No 1 left winger in the country. We think he is world class, and that is the most important."

But Du Plessis, the former captain renowned for his politically correct stance years before the ANC came to power, is more than ever aware of the role of the coloured winger in a wider context. "We don't notice it all the time but Chester is of a different colour. That of course is very important to us in our campaign to bring the whole nation behind our team. Our motto is `one team, one country', and he is not just a great symbol for the World Cup, he is a great symbol for this country."

A tireless campaigner for rugby in the under-privileged areas, Du Plessis retains a global perspective. "Chester's presence in the team is a tremendous motivation to the millions of youngsters out there to show that it can be achieved. That in any walk of life, no matter what the colour, you can get to the top if you are dedicated and you believe in yourself."

The question must be asked however, to what extent Williams is impacting on the black population. Apart from the peanut and biltong vendors you would be hard pressed to find a single black face in the 60,000-strong crowd at the quarter-final, and coverage in the non-white press is negligible.

The Sowetan did run a match report on South Africa's victory, highlighting the role of Williams and his four tries. The article - a simple agency dispatch - was tucked away on the third to last page and appeared on Wednesday - four days after the match.