Chester Williams earned national and international acclaim with his contribution, alongside that of recently deceased wing James Small, to South Africa’s triumph in the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup, Ramaphosa said in a statement.

Most recently, Williams established himself as a highly successful coach who led the University of the Western Cape to victory in the 2017 Varsity Shield.

Ramaphosa offered his sincerest condolences to the family, friends, former teammates, and teams with whom Williams shared his life.

“Chester Williams’s death at this tender age leaves all South Africans bereft of a rugby hero and national role model who still had a great deal to offer his sport and his country,” Ramaphosa said.

“We will miss the humility and joy of life with which Chester conducted himself during an illustrious career that inspired hundreds of thousands of South African children who had previously been excluded from rugby to take up the game.

“We salute him for the extraordinary achievements he recorded in a life that has sadly ended prematurely,” Ramaphosa said.

African News Agency (ANA)