The South African Federation indicated this Sunday that it would investigate accusations of racial insult of which Bongi Mbonambi is suspected. Shortly before half an hour of play during the semi-final won on Saturday evening by the Springboks against the fifteen of the Rose (16-15), the Englishman Tom Curry alerted the referee Ben O’Keeffe, asking him how he had to react when the opposing hooker would have called him a “white c**”. “Nothing, please, I will be vigilant,” the referee replied.
After the match, Curry was asked if Mbonambi had said anything untoward to him. “Yeah,” he replied, before adding: “There’s no need to talk about it. » Likewise, his coach Ian Borthwick explained “that he did not want to comment on this incident”.
“We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously”
The South African Federation
This Sunday morning, forwards coach Deon Davids was not more forthcoming on this subject, assuring “that he was not aware of any comments and had not discussed them”. The South African Federation, however, published a press release in the afternoon: “We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously”, declared the body, specifying that it was “in the process of examining the available evidence.
Mbonambi, the only professional hooker for the Springboks
The English have a 36-hour window to report points to the citation commissioner. World Rugby has not yet commented on these accusations and is waiting for the end of this 36-hour period to potentially do so. Mbonambi is the only professional hooker in the South African squad since the injury to Malcolm Marx, who was replaced numerically by flyhalf Handré Pollard.
