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England issue Tom Curry allegation update, address Sinfield's future
By Liam Heagney
Richard Wigglesworth has insisted that the allegation of discriminatory language against Tom Curry in last Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final hasn’t distracted them from preparations for this Friday’s bronze final match versus Argentina in Paris.
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It emerged in the aftermath of England’s dramatic 16-15 loss to South Africa at Stade de France that Curry has approached referee Ben O’Keeffe midway through the opening half and asked the official. “Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?” O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”
Curry opted to stay silent in the post-game mixed zone when asked about what had happened, but it emerged on Monday that World Rugby were formally reviewing the allegation in relation to the use of discriminatory language by South African hooker Bongi Mbonambi.
With the investigation still ongoing, neither World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont nor chief executive Alan Gilpin would comment on the matter when questioned at Tuesday evening’s media briefing about the expansion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup to 24 teams and the creation of a new Nations League-style tournament from 2026.
Questions were also asked at the England media briefing ahead of their third-place playoff and assistant coach Wigglesworth said: “Tom is good. He has been thrown into it, he is a very impressive young man.
“I know the players would have got around him. Steve (Borthwick) and the management team have been all over it. I’m sure he is getting every bit of support he needs.”
“We get stuck into our prep for Argentina. The process is the process. We have no knowledge of how long that is going to go on for the outcome.
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“Every week there is always some sort of thing you could be distracted by. This is international rugby, there is lots of noise around it. This distraction is different but it’s still noise that isn’t about Friday night.”
England flanker Ben Earl added: “Tom is a brilliant team-mate and friend of mine. He is also an incredibly resilient guy. He gives his all for the team and I know he’ll do that this weekend and I hope it gets resolved pretty quickly.”
There has also been speculation since the semi-final loss that defence coach Kevin Sinfield will exit the England set-up following the tournament.
Wigglesworth, who was the Leicester No9 when Sinfield assisted the Tigers to their 2022 Gallagher Premiership title win before joining Steve Borthwick when he switched to the England job last December, wouldn’t confirm if the rumour was true or not.
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“Nothing I have been aware of from Kev. It’s hard to comment on as it is not me who the story is about. Hopefully, there isn’t much in it,” he said, adding said: “He is a close friend of mine from Leicester.
“I’m very close with him so I am probably incredibly biased about what Kev brings. I’m sure the lads and the environment will tell you he gives absolutely everything, has a big influence on individuals.
What the All Blacks' Dalton Papali'i and Jason Ryan had to say about the hot topic of alleged racism by Bongi Mbonambi in rugby leading into Saturday's World Cup final in Paris versus the Springboks. #AllBlacks #Springboks #NZRvRSA #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/5dydz1Vx7f
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 24, 2023
“He gives up a lot of his time just trying to help. We know he is that sort of person and he has done an exceptional job of doing it.”
Switching to the imminent Test rugby retirement of Courtney Lawes following the conclusion of his fourth World Cup, Wigglesworth explained: “He will be remembered for his actions in an England shirt. he is incredible to play like he does, to get the amount of caps, the amount of World Cups [four] he has.
“I’m sure he will go down as an England legend and rightly so. A massive contribution over a significant number of years. He has overcome injuries and time out of the game to come back and always back to his best. A sign of a classy player.”
Does Wigglesworth have any painful memories of getting tackled by Lawes at club level? “I was always smart enough to make sure (I didn’t),” he quipped.
“I actually got Charlie Hodgson (the ex-Saracens and England player) filled in once after taking two steps too many at scrum-half. I had to apologise for getting a couple of guys hit. I avoided him at all costs.”
