Despite the sideshow that threatens to derail their preparations, the Springboks are not getting caught up in it.
It appears the World Rugby investigation into the racism allegations against hooker Bongi Mbonambi will continue until his name is cleared.
On Monday, the Boks had their first training session of the week, in which Mbonambi participated. Mbonambi and England flank Tom Curry allegedly had an incident during the semifinal over the weekend, but the reigning champions didn’t address the matter.
In a media conference, Scrum coach Daan Human stood up for the player’s character and paid little attention to the accusations.
“He’s a calm guy actually, a very calm guy, well-spoken guy. No, it’s really not a big thing. I don’t want to actually go into it because we’ve got a World Cup final in six days’ time,” Human said.
Jean Kleyn also defended his teammate and dismissed Curry’s complaints.
“Bongi is a great guy. I’ve known him since we played together at the Stormers nine years ago. He’s fantastic, he’s a good individual and to be honest, I’m not even really going to comment on it or to justify it. But all I’ll say is, he’s a fantastic bloke,” said Kleyn.
As a result of the ongoing investigation into all allegations of discriminatory behavior, World Rugby has decided not to make any further statements on the matter.
