This is a file that could cost the Springboks dearly ahead of their World Cup final. The South Africans, facing New Zealand on Saturday (9 p.m.) to try to retain their title, could play this clash against the All Blacks without their starting hooker, Bongi Mbonambi. The latter has been targeted since Monday by an investigation by the international federation, World Rugby, for possible racist remarks made on Saturday evening during the semi-final narrowly won (16-15) against England at the Stade de France.
An accusation made by the third row of the XV de la Rose, Tom Curry, directly to the referee of the match, Ben O’Keeffe. During the first period, the English player claimed that the South African forward would have called him a “white cunt”, a racial insult that could be translated as “white bitch”. But a video extract, broadcast on social networks since, suggests the thesis of a linguistic misunderstanding.
8 seconds in is the audio. Bongi is shouting ‘wit kant’. White side. I think this is the Springboks system call for when the opposition are switching the play. He identifies this early and alerts his defenders.
You can hear him shout it repeatedly. pic.twitter.com/MvG3qYnpYr
— A-P (@rugby_ap) October 23, 2023
The sequence shows an English offensive in the 23rd minute. But beyond the images, the most important thing is the sound. Several Internet users claim that we hear, around the 8 second mark, Bongi Mbonambi shouting “wyd kant” or “wit kant”. Terms from Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa, which translate as “white camp”, like the color of the English jersey, or “big side”, which designates the space where there is the most room to play at the end of a grouping.
The Springboks’ only professional hooker
Tactical instructions, classic on a rugby field, that the 32-year-old seems to shout. And whose pronunciation would be close to that of “white cunt”, in English, and which could have caused this misunderstanding. A thesis to be taken with caution: the sound recording is quite confusing, and nothing indicates that the potential insult was uttered at that moment. Tom Curry complained to New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe five minutes later.
The only professional hooker since the injury and withdrawal of Malcolm Marx at the start of the World Cup, Bongi Mbonambi is essential to South Africa. On Saturday, he played the entire match against England. His two potential replacements are two third rows, Deon Fourie and Marco Van Staden. If World Rugby judges that the player did indeed utter a racist insult, he risks at least six matches of suspension.
