BOMBSHELL: World Rugby launches investigation in allege racism by Springbok hooker

Beaten semi-finalists England have cried foul over an incident in which Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi allegedly used a ‘racial slur’ directed at one of their players and World Rugby is now investigating the matter.

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WHAT WAS ALLEGEDLY SAID DURING THE INCIDENT

The Springboks dug deep to snatch an unlikely 16-15 victory over England in what was a classic semi-final arm-wrestle to advance to the grand finale of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

But while South Africans are still coming down from the high of the nerve-wrecking victory, England have come out with an extraordinary accusation against one of the biggest stars and most influential players in the Springboks’ ranks, forcing SA Rugby to take action.

England flank Tom Curry alleges that Mbonambi called him a “white c***”.

As picked up by the referee’s microphone, Curry could be heard asking Ben O’Keeffe: “Sir, sir, if their hooker calls me a white c**t, what do I do?”. And referee O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please.”

There is no audible evidence to confirm Mbonambi’s alleged abuse, but Curry revealed afterwards that something untoward was said to him.

However, he declined to expand further on what went on by saying: “It does not need to be talked about.

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SA RUGBY STARTS INVESTIGATION INTO SPRINGBOK 

On Sunday, SA Rugby, the national rugby governing body in South Africa, on Sunday responded by confirming they are looking into the incident.

VIDEO: Inside Springboks’ change room celebrations

WORLD RUGBY REVIEWING BONGI-CURRY INCIDENT 

And while there’s been no official comment from the England camp, they have decided to take the matter further by lodging a complaint with World Rugby.

On Monday afternoon, World Rugby issued a statement regarding the alleged discriminatory language used by Mbonambi against Curry.

“World Rugby takes 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.”

World Rugby will not be making further comment until the conclusion of the process.”

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