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Sharks captain Mbonambi addresses controversial incident with referee

South Africa's hooker Bongi Mbonambi takes part in a captain's run at Twickenham Stadium, southwest of London, on August 24, 2023 on the eve of their 2023 World Cup warm-up rugby union match against New Zealand. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Sharks captain Bongi Mbonambi has said he meant “absolutely no disrespect” in his treatment of referee Aimee Barrett-Theron in his side’s loss to the Lions in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, which has since been criticised for.

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The South Africa hooker’s conduct has been called into question in the wake of the Sharks’ 40-10 loss to the Lions, chiefly a moment where they had a try ruled out.

Trailing 19-10, the visitors thought they had scored before halftime, only to have the try ruled out for a dangerous clearout at the ruck. Mbonambi was not happy with the decision, and has since been called out for his treatment of Barrett-Theron.

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The referee handled the situation brilliantly though, saying to the captain: “Bongi, can you walk with me please, this way? Bongi may I speak please? Listen, I fully respect you and who you are, and I am well aware that all of your players have probably played more games than I have refereed in the URC.

“But we are on the same field so if you could show me the same respect that I show you, that would be very much appreciated.”

The Springbok responded: “They are just looking to me for answers, so was it foul play?”

“Yes, that was foul play,” Barrett-Theron replied.

In a message to Sharks fans shared on X on Monday concerning the result and his side’s poor form, Mbonambi also addressed the incident with the official, saying he apologised at halftime.

“As players we have to take a hard look at ourselves after this result,” the double World Cup winner said.

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“We cannot blame anyone else and have a lot of hard work ahead of us. I am an all-in type of player and sometimes my emotions may get the better of me.

 

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“I have full respect for officials and the role they play within our sport. It was never my intention to come across as rude or difficult. I apologised to the referee at halftime and meant absolutely no disrespect.”

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Sharks head coach John Plumtree also shared a message with their fans, with the Durban-based side still rooted to the bottom of the URC table.

“It was a frustrating performance from us and we were just not good enough,” he said.

“As a club, we are better than this and set ourselves high standards, which we are not achieving at this stage.

“We acknowledge the hurt and disappointment amongst our fans as we are hurting just as much as everyone else who loves this brand.

“Thank you to our fans and sponsors for sticking with us during these difficult times. Rest assured there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to ensure future success.”

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Comments

10 Comments
k
karin 259 days ago

TYPICAL SAFFA STYLE .. TRUE COLOR S , EVENTUALLY SHOW .. PLEASE PAY CHILD MAINTENANCE WHILE YOU ARE AT IT ., BONGI BONGI . MATE . THAT IN ITSELF IS ABUSE . JUST LIKE TREATING A FEMALE REFEREE WITH DISDAIN.

B
Bull Shark 261 days ago

Blown out of proportion. Some captains follow the referee around the pitch giving dirty, threatening looks. You don’t see them issuing statements.

J
JJGhost 261 days ago

I watched the game, the Sharks looked like a bunch of amateurs who had only met each other minutes before kick off. Embarassingly poor

S
Sumkunn Tsadmiova 262 days ago

I'm sure Tom Curry's too decent and honourable to make any comment…..

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JW 11 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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