Springbok hooker Mbonambi slams ‘unprofessional’ England in aftermath of RWC ‘racial slur’ row

8 Nov 2023

Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi suggested that the Tom Curry incident was a case of ‘lost in translation’, although he did not confirm what he said to the England flank.

Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi broke his silence over the racial slur accusations levelled at him during Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023, accusing England of being “unprofessional”.

In the aftermath of South Africa’s 16-15 RWC 2023 semifinal win over England, it emerged that flank Tom Curry reported to referee Ben O’Keeffe that Mbonambi had allegedly called him a “white c**t”.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU), the sport’s governing body in England, lodged a complaint with World Rugby to have the matter dealt with “urgently”.

World Rugby launched an investigation and, 48 hours before the final of RWC 2023 between South Africa and New Zealand, confirmed that there was “insufficient evidence” to pursue a case of the alleged use of “discriminatory language”.

The Springboks went on to win RWC 2023 by beating the All Blacks 12-11 in the final at Stade de France on 28 October.

Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Mbonambi did not confirm what he had said to Curry, but he implied it was lost in translation.

“I think it is a very sad thing when you live in a First World country [England], you think the rest of the world speaks English,” Mbonambi told BBC Sport Africa on Tuesday.

“It was unprofessional on their part. They could have gone on a website and looked for an English dictionary and looked for the word in Afrikaans.

“People understood [in South Africa], but obviously their side misunderstood. I’m glad it was well taken care of [by World Rugby] and that is all in the past now. But I have never racially swore at him.”

It has been widely speculated that Mbonambi might have uttered the phrase “wit kant”, which is Afrikaans for “white side”.

RFU unhappy

Despite World Rugby’s decision to drop the matter, the RFU released a scathing statement suggesting that it wasn’t the first time Mbonambi had directed a racial slur at Curry. It alleged he made a similar comment during the November 2022 clash between the teams at Twickenham.

This undermined their case at the World Cup, because they wanted the matter dealt with “urgently”, yet introduced an allegation that supposedly happened 11 months before. They couldn’t have it both ways.

Regardless, the RFU backed Curry’s version despite World Rugby being unable to find any evidence after studying all the available video and audio files. It dropped the matter but left a side door open, suggesting it might be revisited if new evidence came to light.

“The RFU fully supports Tom Curry in raising the racially abusive behaviour he experienced whilst playing for England against South Africa,” the RFU said.

“During the match between England and South Africa on Saturday, 21st October 2023, Tom Curry reported to the referee that he has been racially abused by Mbongeni Mbonambi.

“The subsequent World Rugby investigation were [sic] informed by Tom Curry that he had also been the victim of the same abuse, from the same player, in the Autumn Test 2022.

“World Rugby have today announced their decision not to bring charges in respect of either incident.

“The RFU are deeply disappointed by the decision taken by World Rugby. The decision not to put the evidence before an Independent Disciplinary Panel has denied the disciplinary process the opportunity to hear Tom Curry’s voice and to independently assess his account of these serious events, together with the other available evidence.”

It was a clever bit of legal phrasing, because the RFU’s statement did not confirm whether Curry ever answered questions as part of World Rugby’s investigation, but only that he would not have the chance to answer questions at a disciplinary hearing.

For clarity, Mbonambi was presented with questions by the World Rugby investigating team and he answered them. The same courtesy was presumably extended to Curry.

The South African Rugby Union confirmed on 26 October that Mbonambi had denied the accusations.

“Bongi Mbonambi is an experienced, respected and decorated Test player and, needless to say, denied the allegations from the outset. SA Rugby has absolute faith in the honesty and integrity of Bongi.”

Both Curry and Mbonambi were victims of ugly social media abuse in the aftermath of the allegations.

Kolisi’s empathy and leadership

Bok skipper Siya Kolisi, displaying his status as the game’s most important voice, underlined his empathy and leadership when he revealed he had reached out to Curry.

“I have spoken to him, I sent him a message. He is someone I respect,” Kolisi told the media on 26 October.

“We can take it [criticism] as players. When it comes to us directly, it’s fine. But when it comes to your family, it’s totally different and that’s exactly what he said to me.

“It’s the one part of the game we really don’t enjoy. I hope, obviously, it stops and he was able to prepare as much as he could for the game that he’s playing tomorrow.

“I have let him know we are supporting him, we are thinking of him.”

England head coach Steve Borthwick was less empathetic in the aftermath of the situation, claiming that Curry was a “victim”, even though it was Mbonambi’s name that had been sullied by unfounded allegations.

“We have got a victim of a situation who has not been able to have his voice heard and they [World Rugby] have denied the victim of the situation, Tom Curry, to have his voice heard,” Borthwick said on 26 October. DM

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