Curry race row: Mbonambi given glowing reference by coach
A South African coach has praised the character hooker Bongi Mbonambi after he was accused of pointing a racial slur at England’s Ben Curry in the Springboks’ 16-15 World Cup semi-final win.
Mbonambi was accused of calling Curry a “white c***” in audio picked up on the microphone of referee Ben O’Keeffe on Saturday night – there is no audio currently available of the alleged racial slur.
Defending Mbonambi, South Africa scrum coach Daan Human said: “Bongi has been part of this group for the last six years. He’s a very, very important piece of our puzzle.”
“He was starting in the last World Cup and started in our semi-final, so he’s definitely been important to us.
“He’s definitely one of our leaders and is a great, great man. He’s a family man and I know his kids. My kids look after his kids when they come to the hotel.
“He’s a very, very humble guy, is down to earth and is a hard worker. He is a very calm guy, a well spoken guy.
“He’s a great character and is definitely a guy I would love to have in my team, in our team. That’s it. What I can say about him, he’s a great guy.”
Mbonambi investigated
World Rugby yesterday confirmed they were investigating the incident involving Mbonambi, stating that they take “all allegations of discriminatory behaviour extremely seriously.”
“We can confirm that we are formally reviewing the allegation made by England’s Tom Curry in relation to the use of discriminatory language during the England versus South Africa Rugby World Cup 2023 semi-final on Saturday,” the statement added.
“World Rugby will not be making further comment until the conclusion of the process.”
Mbonambi and Curry did not shake hands after the match.
South Africa will face New Zealand in the World Cup final on Saturday, which will be refereed by Wayne Barnes.