We are playing the 28th minute of the second World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa. To everyone’s surprise, the English lead 9-3. It is at this precise moment that an event that went unnoticed during the meeting occurs. English third row Tom Curry addresses referee Ben O’Keeffe: “Sir, sir, if their hooker calls me a white cunt, what do I do? »
The New Zealander, in turmoil since the quarter-final between the Blues and the Springboks and heavily whistled on Saturday evening at the Stade de France, then replied: “Nothing, please. I’m taking care of it “. The audio recording of the exchange between the referee and the English player was posted on social networks by The Telegraph.
After the meeting, Tom Curry, visibly shaken by the incident, was questioned. When asked by journalists if Mbonambi had said anything to him, Curry said “Yeah”. But he refused to go into further detail.
Journalists then insisted that he return to the post-match scene when the Englishman tried in vain to shake the Springbok’s hand. The latter seemed to push her away. “No, there’s no point talking about it,” Curry cuts in. I won’t talk about it now.”
A tense end to the match between players from both camps
For its part, the English Federation (RFU) refused to comment but could refer the World Rugby quote to the commission if it deems it appropriate. She has 36 hours to do so, until Monday morning.
This Sunday morning, Deon Davids, the Springboks coach, admitted that he was not aware of this affair. “I don’t know anything about possible comments,” he assures. If this was discussed, I’m not sure what the comment was or when it was said. I don’t know. » But the South African Federation 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 is the only professional hooker in the South African squad since the injury to Malcom Marx, who was replaced numerically by flyhalf Handré Pollard. He can be replaced during the match by Deon Fourie, a professional flanker, but a possible suspension of Mbonambi for the final would be a huge blow for the Springboks.
Sanctions are rarely taken against players for words spoken on the field. In 2016, the Englishman Joe Marler was however suspended two matches for comments addressed to the Welshman Samson Lee. The previous year, South African Jacques Potgieger was fined for a homophobic insult during a Super Rugby match.
After the match, the two teams separated after a few scuffles, notably between Owen Farrell and the South African Willie Le Roux. The English captain then spoke of a simple “misunderstanding”.
