Bongi Mbonambi would be a big loss for South Africa if he misses the World Cup final. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
The fallout from the row between Tom Curry and Bongi Mbonambi, in which the South African prostitute is accused of calling his opponent a «white asshole», has turned into a nasty battleground on social media.
Tuesday was another busy day of claims and counterclaims online, sparked by footage of the incident which was quickly dismissed as a red herring.
That didn't stop Mbonambi's supporters from relying on her as a staunch defense, but Telegraph Sport subsequently learned that the widely circulated clip did not capture the moment of Mbonambi's alleged abuse.
World Rugby reported that the abuse came later and directly to Currie while the ball was out of bounds following an attempted pass from Owen Farrell to Elliott Daly, who came on in the 23rd minute.
The video uses footage from the World Cup semi-finals, shot with a spider camera. The accompanying audio, presumably from referee Ben O'Keefe's microphone and free from broadcast commentary, could be interpreted as the player shouting «wit kant», which translates to «white side» in Afrikaans.
Those words are shouted as Farrell turns behind the break to try to chip Daly with a penalty advantage, with Siya Kolisi arrested for failing to tackle minutes earlier. It is alleged that Mbonambi then became offended in English. At the previous stage, Curry was grabbed by Mbonambi and Franco Mostert, another Springboks striker.
The plausibility of this innocent view was supported by previous evidence that South Africa used colors to represent different sides of the conflict. In the Supersport documentary Chasing the Sun, which chronicles South Africa's preparations for the 2019 World Cup and their success at the tournament, Rassie Erasmus talks about watching Herschel Jantjies' last try in the 16-16 draw with New Zealand in July of the same year. It was set up by Willie le Roux, bypassing the break-out, similar to what Farrell did on Saturday, to pass to Cheslin Kolbe, who came forward and his midfielder scored.
“When Willie flew over, we knew something was going on,” Eramus says in the documentary. “And so I started saying—we call it the pink side, this is the blind side—pink on, pink on, pink on.”
Curry and Mbonambi clash during the Twickenham Autumn International. Photo: Getty Images/Steve Bardens
Curry and Mbonambi, a pair of combative forwards, were at the center of a tense Test match and have a rich history. They were also involved in a lengthy and acrimonious exchange last November at Twickenham, when South Africa won 27-13, a game that hastened the end of Eddie Jones' tenure as England manager.
Soon ending investigations. it would be in everyone's best interests, especially with the Springboks preparing for what should be a blockbuster World Cup final against New Zealand.
Following their decision not to call up a professional hooker as a replacement for Malcolm Marks earlier in the tournament, Mbonambi is arguably their most valuable man. He played the full 80 minutes against England and doesn't have many backups. Deon Fourie, earmarked as a potential replacement for the job, came off the bench and moved to the back row. Marco van Staden, another flanker, is the second emergency hooker.
A World Rugby spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that the review would be completed «as soon as possible».
“The first part of the review is devoted to collecting evidence,” they added. «We will update as soon as we can.»
England, the Rugby Football Union and Sale Sharks have thrown their support behind Curry, who will end a tough week with his 50th cap if he is selected to face Argentina in Friday's third-place play-off.
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Mbonambi has yet to formally respond to the allegation, but when contacted, a South African Rugby spokesman said: “We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence. We will contact Bongi if anything is found to support this claim.»
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