Bongi: SA teams ready to make Europe ‘uncomfortable’

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Bongi Mbonambi has said he regrets the Sharks’ ill-discipline in their Champions Cup debut, but he’s not apologising to Antoine Dupont who has taken issue with South African clubs competing in Europe.

On the eve of the 2022-23 competition, Dupont, the 2021 World Player of the Year, hit out at the inclusion of SA sides in the new-look Champions Cup, saying it was “no longer the European Cup”.

The Vodacom Bulls, Sharks and Cheetahs kicked off their respective Champions and Challenge Cup campaigns on a winning note on Saturday, while the Lions missed a last-minute penalty forcing them to settle for a high-scoring draw against the Dragons.

Speaking at a media conference in the buildup to a clash between the Sharks and Bordeaux in France on Friday night, Mbonambi was asked about the frosty reception from the likes of Dupont.

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“It’s really a tough one but I don’t think everyone is negative about it, and I don’t think all the French players are negative about it,” the Sharks hooker told reporters on Tuesday.

“The only article I read about it was Dupont, who said once South African teams are introduced into the European Cup it’s no longer European to them, whatever that means to him.

“We’ll just come here and do our best, and if it means we make it uncomfortable for other players then that’s what it is, it’s part of rugby.

“It’s a professional sport and it’s become an international sport, so we’re here to make the best out of the competition.”

Leading 22-14 at half time against Harlequins in Durban on Saturday, the Sharks made the perfect start after the break when Werner Kok bagged their bonus-point try in a 39-31 win, but were down to 13 men midway through the second half after Mbonambi saw yellow for a team infringement, and Ox Nche a red following a head-on-head collision with Quins rake Jack Walker.

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Addressing the importance of discipline, Mbonambi said: “We had a leadership meeting and we spoke about discipline and had a very tough talk about it.

“I personally put my hand up to the team and apologised for it [yellow card]. It’s not my style of play and the way I want to play for the Sharks, or any other team.

“And for Ox also… a tough call and he’s not really a player who tackles like that, he’s a really good defender, he just got on the wrong side of the ref. I take 100% responsibility for [getting sent off] and will definitely make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

He also admitted the second-half fightback from Quins at Kings Park was a lesson for the Sharks not to be complacent in the competition.

“We definitely knew the Harlequins weren’t going to give up; we [reviewed] their games and they usually come back even when they’re 20, 30 points down. They always manage to make it a close game, and sometimes win games,” Mbonambi said.

“We saw that this weekend and it was massive learning for us, that it never means that when you’re a couple of points up you can relax.

“Teams here are very good, they’ve been playing European Cup for longer than us … so we’ve still got a lot to learn from them.”

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Photo: Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

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Devin Hermanus