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.”
Proteas five wickets away from Sri Lanka series whitewash
South Africa closed in on a series whitewash of Sri Lanka on day four of the second Test in Gqeberha.
The Proteas require five wickets to complete a 2-0 win over the tourists, who need 143 runs to level the series at St George's Oval.
South Africa resumed at 191-3 on Sunday, Temba Bavuma (66) and Tristan Stubbs (47) led their charge as they continued at the crease.
David Bedingham added 35 as the hosts took their second-innings total to 317, with only Prabath Jayasuriya's five-wicket haul stopping them in their tracks.
That left Sri Lanka a target of 348, but South Africa took full advantage of the new balls, with Dimuth Karunaratne (1), Pathum Nissanka (18) and Dinesh Chandimal (29) all dismissed.
Angelo Matthews (32) and Kamindu Mendis (35) also went, though an unbroken 83-run stand between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis steadied the ship to give Sri Lanka hope of completing an almighty turnaround.
Data Debrief: Jayasuriya into double figures in just 18th Test
Bavuma led by example for South Africa once more, with his fourth successive contribution of 50 or more.
Jayasuriya's five-wicket haul to halt the Proteas' progress was his 10th in just 18 Tests, and his first outside Sri Lanka.
The tourists' hopes are not over yet, but they must create history to level the contest. Indeed, no team has previously completed a chase of more than 271 runs at St George's Oval.
Bethell has proved doubters wrong, claims Stokes
Jacob Bethell has proved his critics wrong with his superb performances with the bat against New Zealand, so says Ben Stokes.
After hitting the winning runs in the first Test, new boy Bethell plundered 96 in the second innings of the second match.
The 21-year-old, who came into the team after Jordan Cox suffered a thumb injury, fell just short of what would have been his first professional century in what is only his 22nd first-class appearance.
And with the decision to place Bethell at three having come under scrutiny before the series started, Stokes feels the youngster has swiftly set about showing just what an exceptional talent he is.
"I'm pretty sure there were a lot of doubters about the role we brought him into for that first Test match," Stokes told BBC Sport.
"You've got a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest?
"I was devastated for him to not get that three figures. I said to him: 'It's only four runs, isn't it?'
"His response was: 'Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.'
"I think he's proved a lot and proved why we rate him so highly."
Stokes does not feel Bethell's performances have provided him with a headache when it comes to selection, though.
"No, I don't see it like that," he said.
"If it hadn't gone well for him in those first two Test matches, that wouldn't have changed anyone's mind in our dressing room of him as a player."
Joe Root plundered his sixth Test century of 2024 in England's second innings, matching the joint-highest total of tons in a calendar year by an England player.
Stokes then took 3-5 with the ball to skittle through New Zealand's tail, after Tom Blundell had offered some resistance for the hosts on Sunday with a brilliant 115.
"In this Test in particular, on day one we were 43 for 4 to be here on the winning side on day three is quite phenomenal," said Stokes.
"We got bowled out in fifty overs (54.5) but we had 270 runs on the board which was a good score on that day one-wicket, and then we obviously had time left with the ball to be able to make some inroads.
"To score 270 and take five wickets at the end of day one really set this game up.
"We back ourselves to be able to go out there and change games and we feel that there needs to be a bit of impetus put into the game, particularly with the bat.
"As a bowler you want to be able to plonk it on a length and plonk it onto the top of off stump over and over again. But sometimes when a batter is brave enough to take you on and knock you off your length, it's very hard to commit to still doing that."
New Zealand captain Tom Latham, meanwhile, credited England's dominant display, and handed particular praise to Harry Brook, who scored 123 in the first innings and 55 in the second.
"It's the pressure they are able to put you under, especially with the bat," said Latham.
"I think on day one it was offering enough for our bowlers and the way Harry played in that innings was outstanding.
"Credit where it's due. The way he played puts you under pressure from ball one. He played some incredible shots that you don't necessarily see from other teams around the world."
Blundell's ton fruitless as England seal series win
Tom Blundell's scintillating century was not enough for New Zealand as England sealed a series win by wrapping up a 323-run victory inside three days.
England resumed play at Basin Reserve on Sunday on 378-5, with Joe Root on 73.
The tourist's former captain plundered his way to a 36th Test century, which he brought up with a reverse scoop from Will O’Rourke (1-104), who at least gained a measure of revenge when Root edged through to Blundell in the same over when on 106.
Ben Stokes left himself unbeaten on 49 as he declared with England on 427-6, setting New Zealand a daunting 583 to win.
Stokes' decision swiftly paid off, with Devon Conway (0), Kane Williamson (four) and Black Caps skipper Tom Latham (24) sent packing within the first 10 overs.
Brydon Carse (2-53) dismissed Rachin Ravindra (six) in the 14th over, bringing Blundell to the crease.
After being dropped when on a duck, Blundell offered resistance, smashing his way to a fifth Test ton in rapid time, though Daryl Mitchell (32) and Glenn Phillips (16) fell around him.
Four of Blundell's five sixes came from Shoaib Bashir's bowling, but his stand came to an end when he edged the spinner through to Ben Duckett, who palmed the ball up to take the catch at the second attempt.
That England breakthrough came in the 49th over of New Zealand's second innings, and it was game over by midway through the 55th, with Stokes rattling through the hosts' tail to finish with exceptional figures of 3-5, his best in over two years in a Test.
Now 2-0 up in the three-match series, England will aim for a whitewash when the final Test begins in Hamilton next week.
Data Debrief: Root ties for tons
Root has now scored six Test centuries in 2024. No player has ever scored more than six tons for England in one calendar year, with Root himself having previously done so in 2021. Denis Compton - 1947, Michael Vaughan (2002) and Jonny Bairstow (2022) have also struck six hundreds in one year for England.
His efforts helped England claim their biggest win in terms of runs against New Zealand, while this is their first series win in the country since 2008.
The Black Caps, meanwhile, have now lost their last two Tests at Basin Reserve, having previously gone on a seven-match unbeaten run at the venue. It is the first time New Zealand have lost back-to-back matches in the longest format in Wellington since 2010.
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