England's Tom Curry accuses South Africa's Bongi Mbonambi of making racist slur in World Cup semi-final

Controversy has emerged following England's Rugby World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa after Tom Curry accused Bongi Mbonambi of making a racist slur towards him.

The Red Rose missed out in a place in the final of the competition, which is taking place in France, after narrowly losing 16-15 to the Springboks at the Stade de France in Paris.

It means that England will now take on Argentina in the third place play-off of the Rugby World Cup, while South Africa will face New Zealand in the final.

However, a controversial moment has emerged after the encounter as England flanker Curry has accused South Africa hooker Mbonambi of calling him a 'white c**t' during the game.

As the half-hour mark approached in the clash, Curry approached match referee Ben O'Keeffe and asked the New Zealand official what he should do after claiming he had been called a racial slur by Mbonambi.

He said: "Sir, sir, if their hooker calls me a white c**t, what do I do?"

The match referee responded with "nothing please" but the incident has been discussed after the clash.

Speaking in the mixed zone, Curry was asked by reporters if Mbonambi had said something he should not have. The England star replied "yeah", though he did not elaborate further on the altercation.

Getty)

When asked if the matter had been cleared up, he added: "No. It doesn't need to be talked about."

South Africa forwards coach Deon Davids said he was not aware of any comments made, but SA Rugby has since confirmed they have been made aware of the allegation and will speak with Mbonambi regarding it.

The statement reads: "We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence.

"We will engage with Bongi if anything is found to substantiate the claim."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.