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South Africa captain Siya Kolisi addresses online abuse of England's Tom Curry
By Josh Raisey
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has reached out to England flanker Tom Curry this week following abuse and threats he received online.
The 25-year-old was the subject of online attacks this week after his allegation that he was racially by South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi during the World Cup semi-final.
World Rugby ended its investigation on Thursday, saying there is "insufficient evidence at this time to proceed with charges," and Mbonambi was selected to start for the Springboks in the World Cup final against the All Blacks soon after.
Following the team announcement, the Springboks' captain said that the team are "supporting" the Englishman and "thinking of him", and that he has spoken to him this week.
"I have spoken to him," Kolisi said.
"I sent him a message. He is someone I respect.
"We can take it as players, when it comes to you it's fine, but when families are involved it's different.
"I have let him know we are supporting him, we are thinking of him."
Despite the online abuse he has received this week, as well as the focus on the investigation, Curry has still been selected to start in England's bronze final match against Argentina on Friday. England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth explained that the squad have fully supported during this trying situation.
"I know the players would have got round him," he said. "Steve [Borthwick] and the management team have been all over it. I'm sure he is getting every bit of support he needs."
Wigglesworth also added how the squad have not let the investigation be a distraction this week. He said: "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 on the outcome. 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."
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Latest Comments
Which country do you think was instrumental in developing rugby in Argentina which then spun off into the rest of Latin South America? South Africa was touring Argentine in the 50's with their Junior Bok side on three months development tours. And they didn't do it to cultivare players for the Boks. Regarding Africa you are not taking into account that South Africa itself is an emerging nation. The rugby union has prioritised the development of rugby in South African rural communities with outstanding success.
It has taken 15 years to build the participation of rugby both in playing and watching. For South Africa on its own to build a viable international rugby competition in africa will take generations - not decades. New Zealanders seem to resent the fact that SA has doubled the income of the URC since their inclusion. If New Zealand Rugby hadn't insisted on have a disproportionate slice of the pie in Super Rugby, SA might not have fled the coop.
Go to commentsDon't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
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