Englishman Tom Curry has accused South African Bongi Mbonambi of making racist comments.

The semi-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup between England and South Africa took place on Saturday. A rally that ended in a win for the Springboks, beating the English to the wire (15-16). However, an incident marred this success. According to the newspaper telegramXV De La Rose would have complained that Tom Curry’s third row was insulted by South Africa’s Bongi Mbonambi during the match.

It is about 23^e Minutes into this World Cup semi-final, England’s Bongi approached the referee about Mbonambi’s racist comments. ” Sir, what should I do if the hunter calls me “white man”? He would have asked. ” Nothing, please. I will be careful… » Then New Zealand umpire Ben O’Keeffe would have spoken to any response. An exchange was picked up by the latter’s microphone and broadcast by a British daily.

Initiating an internal investigation

Springbok assistant coach Dion Davids confirmed on Sunday that he was not aware of these facts. ” I’m not aware of any comment, it was never brought up, so I don’t know what the comment was or where it was said “, he announced during a press conference. For his part, England coach Steve Borthwick declined to comment. ” I am not going to comment on this incident “, he declared.

However, the South African federation, SA Rugby, announced in a press release that it was launching an internal investigation. ” We take this allegation very seriously and are reviewing the available evidence “, noted the body, adding that it would cooperate with Bongi Mbonambi.” If anything is found to support this claim The English federation has until Monday morning to lodge a complaint.