Chester delighted with start
November 10, 2000

Lions wing Chester Williams is elated that he will be starting Sunday's Test against Argentina with roommate Breyton Paulse.

He has been told by Bok coach Harry Viljoen that he will start at the expense of Western Province playmaker Pieter Rossouw in the Buenos Aires Test.

Williams told a website: "Harry's told me I'll be starting. And I'm really looking forward to playing at the famous River Plate stadium."

On current form, Rossouw deserves to be picked ahead of Williams, whose lack of pace is becoming more apparent - but his wise rugby brain makes up for this deficiency.

Still, Williams doesn't believe he is a "merit with bias" selection. Viljoen is strongly committed to transformation and is seemingly not keen to only pick one black player in his starting XV - not after both Williams and Paulse featured in the last two Tri-Nations Tests.

But Williams said: "I've been chosen on merit, nothing else. Pieter has been playing well so it's good I'm in the starting line-up. But I'll have to be at my best to hold onto my spot. It will be a tough Test and we're going to have to be at our best if we're going to win."

Commenting on the wing equation, Viljoen, who will name his team on Friday, said: "We've got three very talented wingers in Breyton, Pieter and Chester. So it's important we manage the situation correctly.

"I called them all in to discuss the matter and I assured them that they would all get their chance. They were very happy to go along with what I suggested and were keen to do whatever was best for the squad."

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