World Rugby to probe Springbok racial slur claims

South Africa have found themselves embroiled in controversy ahead of the World Cup final against the All Blacks, with World Rugby confiming it will investigate allegations of a racist slur from Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

England flanker Tom Curry accused Mbonambi of using discriminatory language in the first half of their semi-final in Paris on Sunday, which the South Africans won 16-15.

Curry asked the match referee, New Zealander Ben O'Keeffe, "If their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?"

O'Keefe replied, "Nothing, please."

If Mbonambi is found guilty he's likely to be banned from the title decider, robbing South Africa of one of their best players and leaving them with a massive hole in the front row.

SA Rugby, the country's rugby union released a statement saying, "We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence," it said.

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

The All Blacks insist they're not paying much attention to the World Rugby investigation, but defence coach Scott McLeod said if Mbonambi is ruled out, it would be a huge blow for South Africa.

"If anything came of that for him, I'd imagine that would be a massive dent for them. He's a leader of their team. When Siya (Kolisi, the South African captain) goes off then he becomes the captain so I imagine that would really impact them."

The saga is one the Springboks could do without as the prepare for Sunday's World Cup final, but Davids is confident his side will rise to the occasion.

He believes the match will be decided by the smallest of margins.

"I think it will go to a different level in terms of the competition between the two teams. There is excellent talent in the two teams.

"It's going to come down to the team that handles the pressure and that executes and uses their opportunities the best and executes their plan the best. Or maybe it will come down to one brilliant moment from one individual."

The All Blacks have played the Springboks twice already this year, with New Zealand recording a resounding win in Auckland in July, before South Africa claimed a crushing victory at Twickenham in August.

Davids said it would be a trap for for the defending champions to believe that the result in London will count for anything come Sunday morning in Paris.

"It will be a completely different game. I think New Zealand is playing excellent rugby and if we [Springboks] live in the past and not be in the moment we will fool ourselves. We are facing a formidable opponent."

And McLeod is confident the All Blacks are a much better team now than they were at Twickenham.

"There's a lot of aspects of our game that are currently working. That builds belief. It's something that we;ve been working on for quite a while and to see it work under pressure in those moments in the quarters and semis it's very pleasing.

"It's just about harnessing that now and making sure we do it again."

McLeod concedes their scrum and lineout will need to be near flawless if they're to beat the Springboks and prop Tamaiti Williams agrees.

The front rower made his test debut against South Africa at Mt Smart earlier this year before playing them again at Twickenham a couple of months ago.

He knows exactly what the All Blacks will be up against in Paris on Sunday.

"They are massive men and they're very clinical so if you give them a chance they'll take it. For us, for me it's all about being clean and you've just got to match the physicality they're going to bring because it's us that has to stop it. We've had a good win against them [this year] and we got a hiding against them as well so we've got to get the balance right."

If the All Blacks can get the balance right they'll give themselves a good chance of winning, but one thing was evident from South Africa's semi-final win over England, the Springboks can never be written off.

- RNZ