Bongi Mbonambi’s mother as seen in a video shared on Instagram on Tuesday, 2 April recalled one of her proudest moments of her rugby player son during the Rugby World Cup.
AWW! BONGI MBONAMBI’S MOTHER GUSHES OVER HER SON
The Springboks won the Rugby World Cup for the fourth time last year. The tournament took place in Paris, France with the final game played at the Stade de France stadium. The South African national rugby team led by Siya Kolisi as captain beat the New Zealand All Blacks and walked away with the Webb Ellis Cup.
In a video recently posted on social media, Bongi Mbonambi’s mother expressed how proud she was to see her son with his team and representing the country abroad.
“He was singing a song and motivating his soldiers,” the rugby star’s mom said as she recalled one of her fondest moments of her son at the Rugby World Cup. Revealing her angelic vocals she sang, “YiBokke lena, yibokke le abayaziyo, abazange abazange bayibona.“
The song also known as igwijo in Xhosa is popular amongst local rugby fans and is often sung by the Springbok team during matches as a form of encouragement.
The 33-year-old Springbok hooker grew up in the city of Bethlehem in South Africa, Daily Mail reported. His father Mpinda was said to have worked as a policeman while his mother Nombulelo worked as a nurse.
According to the publication, Nombulelo previously revealed that her son’s love for rugby was a consequence which came after attending a largely white private school in the city. The family reportedly had wanted him to attend an English and Afrikaans-speaking schools with an aim to give Bongi a better chance of having a career.
RACIAL SLUR ALLEGATION VS TOM CURRY
Unfortunately, Bongi Mbonambi’s Afrikaans almost ended his rugby career. During a heated semi-final match against England in Paris, opposition player Tom Curry accused Bongi of having expressed racial slur.
In an audio recording heard on referee Ben O’Keeffe’s microphone, Curry was heard accusing the Springbok star of having shouted “white **t [the word ‘kant’ translates to ‘side’ in Afrikaans]”, TshisaLIVE reported. The England flanker was reportedly heard complaining to the now-retired referee in the 28th minute.
“Sir, sir, if their hooker calls me a white c**t what do I do?” Curry can be heard asking in the circulated clip.
World Rugby opened an investigation on the matter which was later closed due to “insufficient evidence”, Planet Rugby reported. “It is important to note that World Rugby accepts that Tom Curry made the allegations in good faith and that there is no suggestion that the allegation was deliberately false or malicious,” World Rugby was quoted as saying.