Springbok Bongi Mbonambi has poked fun at his 2023 Rugby World Cup drama in which he was accused of making a racial slur against England captain Tom Curry. The hooker claimed that a language barrier was to blame for the faux pas. BONGI MBONAMBI LAUGHS OFF WORLD CUP ‘WIT KANT-GATE’ In an Instagram post, Bongi Mbonambi revisited a core memory from the 2023 Rugby World Cup – the moment he was accused of calling England captain Tom Curry a racial slur during the match.
In the post, the 35-year-old posted a picture of himself standing at the sign of a street named “Waterkant”. He captioned the post with an emoji of the South African flag. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LekkeSlaap (@lekkeslaap.co.za) The post was no doubt a jab at Curry’s claims that Mbonambi called him a “wit c**t”, or “white c**t”, Bongi Mbonambi – who profusely denied the allegations – put the scandal down to being lost in translation.
He claimed that he has said the words “wit kant” or “white side” – referring to England – in Afrikaans. ‘PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD IN SOUTH AFRICA’ After the incident between Bongi Mbonambi and Tom Curry, World Rugby launched an investigation, reviewing video and audio footage and submissions from both teams. Ultimately, Mbonambi was vindicated after the union stated that there was “insufficient evidence” that Curry was racially abused.
Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, Bongi expressed his anger and disappointment at being accused of something he did not do. He said: “I think it is a very sad thing when you live in a first world country [England], you think the rest of the world speaks English. “It was unprofessional on their part.
“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 sworn at him.” Bongi Mbonambi, a black South African, is fluent in Afrikaans after attending schools in Pretoria (now Tshwane) and playing for the Blue Bulls rugby club in the Western Cape.