South Africa have begun investigating an alleged racist slur directed at England flanker Tom Curry by their hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi.
England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint with the citing officer after Curry claimed he had been the victim of a discriminatory remark in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by the Springboks.
Curry drew the incident to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe in the second quarter of the match at the Stade de France.
Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref mic, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.
“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c*** what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.
O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”
South Africa on Sunday responded by confirming they are looking into the incident.
“We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence. We will engage with Bongi if anything is found to substantiate the claim,” an SA Rugby statement read.
When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he should not have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal the content of the remark.
Mbonambi, who took over as captain once Siya Kolisi had been replaced, refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.
World Rugby confirmed there is a 36-hour window from when the game ends for England to lodge a complaint to the citing officer, giving them until 10am BST on Monday to act.
The sport’s global governing body can also choose to pursue the matter, with any case likely to be brought under the ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ banner.
Also, if the citing officer finds any evidence of the alleged racist remark, disciplinary proceedings can be triggered against Mbonambi, with an offence such as this likely to contravene law 9.12 – a player must not verbally abuse anyone.
England led for all but five minutes of the semi-final and were nine points ahead until RG Snyman went over in the 70th minute at a time when the Springboks’ scrum was taking control through the introduction of the ‘Bomb Squad’.
Jonny May said England’s heroic effort against the world champions was fuelled by the belief that they had been dismissed as a serious threat by South Africa.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t think necessarily the South Africans respect us,” May said.
“Some of the things their coach has openly said about us in their documentaries and stuff probably just adds fuel to the fire.
“We touched on their documentary and we’ve got staff who were with them and they gave us insight of how they feel about us.”
South Africa beat Ireland in ODI opener to avenge T20I loss
South Africa cruised to a 139-run win over Ireland in the teams' first ODI in Abu Dhabi, with Lizaad Williams tearing through their opponents' batting order.
The Proteas approached Wednesday's contest reeling from a shock T20I defeat to Ireland on Sunday, with Ross Adair's maiden international century ensuring the two-match series ended 1-1.
There was not to be a repeat in the 50-over format, however, with Ireland's batting order collapsing after Ryan Rickelton (91) and Tristan Stubbs (79) guided an otherwise shaky South Africa to 271-9.
The Proteas started miserably by losing three wickets for 39 runs, Mark Adair taking two of them on his way to figures of 4-50.
But opener Rickelton stayed cool while the wickets tumbled around him, lasting 102 deliveries and allowing Stubbs to join in on the act with comfortably his best ODI score, dragging South Africa to a respectable total.
Ireland might have harboured hopes of a successful chase, but Paul Stirling's fourth-ball dismissal for just two runs set the tone, and a spate of four more wickets in the space of six overs dropped Ireland to 61-5.
Williams finished with figures of 4-32 from his 10 overs for the Proteas, who needed just 32 overs to finish off the tail and bring some much-needed positivity to their tour of the United Arab Emirates, which started with an ODI series loss to Afghanistan.
Data Debrief: Williams wins it
Rickelton and Stubbs carried South Africa to a score they were capable of defending despite no other batter scoring more than Bjorn Fortuin's 28 – seven scored 13 runs or fewer.
But it was Williams who made sure of the victory, taking three of the first four wickets to leave Ireland in a tailspin, then going on to record the best figures of his young ODI career.
In none of his previous five ODIs had Williams managed more than two wickets, while his 32 runs conceded were also his fewest in the format.
Buttler returns to skipper England for West Indies tour
Jos Buttler will return to captain England for the white-ball tour of West Indies, while Yorkshire leg-spinner Jafer Chohan has earned his first international call-up.
Buttler missed the recent one-day international and T20 series against Australia due to a calf injury, with Harry Brook and Phil Salt leading the respective sides in his absence.
Meanwhile, Chohan is one of three uncapped players in the squad, which will remain the same for both series, along with Hampshire fast bowler John Turner and Warwickshire all-rounder Dan Mousley.
The 22-year-old has taken 17 wickets in 10 T20 Blast matches for Yorkshire in 2024, and is the first South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) graduate to be named in an England squad.
"It feels like an absolute dream to be selected. It's what I've worked for my whole life," Chohan told Yorkshire CCC.
"For me, this is a really good opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, learn as much as I can, and just really sharpen up my game as much as possible."
The three-game ODI series begins in Antigua on October 31, while the five-game T20 series commences in Barbados on November 9.
Full squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Stirling 'over the moon' after historic Ireland win over South Africa
Ireland captain Paul Stirling is "over the moon" after securing their first-ever T20I victory over South Africa, beating them by 10 runs.
Brilliant performances from brothers Ross and Mark Adair set them on course to the win, as they drew the two-match series 1-1.
Ross Adair scored his maiden international century, combining with Stirling for a superb opening partnership of 137, leading the team to 195-6, their highest T20I score against South Africa.
Mark Adair then followed up that performance with an impressive stand in the field, finishing with 4-31, before Graham Hume's 3-25 rounded off the triumph.
And Stirling was thrilled with how Ireland performed on both sides, particularly in the field.
"At halfway, we wanted an extra 15-20 runs," he said.
"They squeezed us, and we felt under-par. There was less dew [on Sunday] and we managed to get over the line.
"You need time at the crease to get the pace of the wicket. That is what won us the game.
"With new batters coming in, you always have a chance. We are absolutely delighted [with the win]. It could have gone either way. Over the moon [with the result] and hopefully we can bring it into the ODIs."
South Africa started brightly, with both Reeze Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke getting 51 after Ryan Rickelton's opening 36.
However, they soon collapsed after that, with none of the other eight batters able to reach double figures as they finished on 185-9.
Captain Aiden Markram admitted that fine margins cost them on Sunday, but he still found positives to take from the series.
"We thought it was chaseable for sure," he said. "Small moments in the game.
"It comes down to execution and if you can win those moments. When you lose wickets regularly…you want a 20-30-run partnership. They made it tough for us.
"Each guy will have a certain area to improve. We never really stop learning. Ultimately, making better decisions and winning games for South Africa."
The two sides now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series, which starts on Wednesday at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
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