Rugby World Cup: “Curry is the victim, it’s a shame that he is being insulted,” laments Itoje

South African hooker Bongi Mbonambi, whom Englishman Tom Curry accused of having made a racial insult against him in the World Cup semi-final, will not be prosecuted for lack of sufficient evidence, has announced Thursday World Rugby. Before the small final on Friday (21) against Argentina, Maro Itoje, the second row of the XV de la Rose, came to support his teammate.

“First, I want to say that Tom was immense. It takes courage to do what he did, the way he did. As Steve said before, he did things in the right order, following the right procedure and he can be proud of his behavior, he said. His family and his teammates are proud of him, because it's not easy to do what he did. It takes courage to make such a statement, to denounce something that is not easy to denounce. He was able to see it this week, when you take such a courageous step, you expose yourself.

And the Saracens player continued: “For our part, we did everything to support him as much as possible and be there for him, to support him as he wishes. If he needs to talk, we're here for him. (...) He's a strong person. He has a great personality, a real desire to succeed and, as I said before, he was exceptional this week. Regarding the insults Curry received on social media, Maro Itoje adds: “Tom is innocent in this case. Like Steve said, he didn't do anything wrong. He's the victim. It’s a shame that he should be insulted like that.”