BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | International | SA rejects action on racism charge



By Matt Majendie BBC Sport Online

No action will be taken by South African rugby authorities following former Springbok Chester Williams' allegations of racism in the sport.

Williams claimed the so-called unity in South African rugby which typified their 1995 World Cup triumph was all a lie.

Chester Williams during his playing days
Williams claims he was racially abused as a player

But on Tuesday, the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) said it would take the matter no further.

Williams, in his autobiography which was launched on Monday, accused team-mate James Small of racist abuse during his playing career.

He said: "Small called me a kaffir and shouted, 'Why do you want to play our game? You know you can't play it.'"

Williams added: "I had been called the k-word many times in my rugby life. If I was going to let racial abuse get to me, I was never going to succeed as a black rugby player."

Small has said through his lawyer that he had "no independent recollection of the specific events to which Chester refers".

Sarfu deputy managing director Songezo Nayo told BBC Sport Online: "It would be inappropriate for us to take any action over this... because this was the reality in South Africa then.

"You must remember that Chester came into an environment in which we had been through one of the most brutal systems so people still had their own views.

Chester Williams was a pioneer and youngsters owe it to the likes of him to move the sport on

Songezo Nayo
Sarfu deputy managing director

"And Sarfu was formed in 1991 from two disparate groups - one white body and one black body. It [what Williams claims] would have been expected to happen."

Back in the early 1990s, Williams, now coach of South Africa's sevens side, was the black face of Springbok rugby.

Nayo insisted that his role had paved the way for a brighter future for the game in South Africa.

He said: "Chester Williams was a pioneer and youngsters owe it to the likes of him to move the sport on.

"Now it is totally different to what the situation was in the early '90s. The current Springbok squad is a much different entity to what it was.

"One statement Chester makes in his book is that South African rugby is one that encourages opportunities and promotes opportunities for blacks.

"He says himself that rugby is different to what it used to be."


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