By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
World Rugby confirmed it is reviewing an allegation by England flanker Tom Curry that he was the subject of an alleged discriminatory remark by Springboks hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi in their Rugby World Cup semifinal.
The claim threatens Mbonambi’s participation for South Africa in the final against New Zealand on Saturday.
World Rugby said, “it will make no further comment on the incident until the conclusion of its review process.
The governing body said it take the allegation “extremely seriously”.
Curry was asked after the match whether something untoward had been said to him by Mbonambi.
“Yeah,” he replied, before adding that “it does not need to be talked about”.
Curry drew the incident to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe in the first half of the match at the Stade de France, which the Boks won 16-15.
It appeared that Mbonambi refused to shake Curry’s hand as the acrimony between the two sides continued following the final whistle.
Teams are given up to 36 hours after the culmination of matches to refer incidents to the citing commissioner.
Mbonambi is the only specialist hooker in the South Africa squad, with the team’s management having opted to replace the injured Malcolm Marx with fly-half Handre Pollard earlier in the tournament.
Although the alleged slur is not audible on the referee mic, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.
Curry is heard asking O’Keeffe what he should do after alleging he has been called a racial slur.
“Nothing, please,” O’Keeffe replied. “I’ll be on it.”
SA Rugby – the South African rugby union – had already started its own investigation into Curry’s claim.
“We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence,” it said.
“We will engage with Bongi if anything is found to substantiate the claim.”
Mbonambi took over as captain once Siya Kolisi was replaced early in the second half against England.