Bongi Mbonambi labels 'first world' England 'unprofessional' after racism saga

South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi has called the England team “unprofessional” for their allegation that he used discriminatory language towards Tom Curry at the World Cup.

In one of the most notorious sagas of the entire tournament, the Springboks star was part of a World Rugby investigation after the England flanker believed he was racially abused by him during the semi-final.

World Rugby closed the investigation before the final saying there was “insufficient evidence”, allowing Mbonambi to play in the 12-11 victory over the All Blacks, although he only lasted a matter of minutes before going off with a knee injury.

Kwagga Smith cameo

Kwagga Smith cameo

Speaking to BBC Sport Africa recently, the 32-year-old denied racially swearing and instead said that he was speaking Afrikaans, before labelling England as “unprofessional”  for assuming the Springboks would speak English.

“I think it is a very sad thing when you live in a first world country, you think the rest of the world speaks English,” the two-time World Cup winner said.

“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 was 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.”

While Mbonambi has defended himself here and criticised England, World Rugby did stress after their review that Curry, who has since been subjected to death threats online, made the allegation in “good faith”.

The statement said: “It is important to note that World Rugby accepts that Tom Curry made the allegations in good faith and that there is no suggestion that the allegation was deliberately false or malicious.”

“World Rugby is also concerned by the social media abuse that both players have been subjected to this week. There is no place in rugby or society for discrimination, abuse or hate speech, and World Rugby urges fans to embrace the sport’s values of respect, integrity and solidarity.”