The South African Rugby Union (SARU) have received an apology from their French counterparts after they complained about the performance of their national anthem before last Friday’s Test match in Toulouse.

Durban-born reggae singer Ras Dumisani at times paused and seemed to struggle to remember the words of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, which features all 11 of South Africa’s official languages, prior to last Friday’s contest.

The French union (FFR) president Pierre Camou have sent a written apology to the SARU over the matter, describing the performance of the anthem as a “debacle”.

SARU president Oregan Hoskins said: “The French Union have offered their unreserved apologies and I have accepted them on behalf of SARU.

“I am still at a loss to understand how this artist was allowed to be in a position to deliver such an appalling rendition of our cherished anthem — something that would never be allowed to happen in this country.

“But I obviously accept that there was no deliberate intent by the FFR to sabotage the anthem and, as much as the performance still rankles, we regard the matter as now closed.”

Springboks lock Victor Matfield claimed the players had been distracted by the poor delivery of the anthem.

“It was a joke out there and the guys couldn’t even sing (along) and even the crowd was starting to laugh,” he said.

“Every time you go out on the field and sing the national anthem, it’s something that fires you up. It was a big disappointment.”