A formal complaint has been laid against Bongi Mbonambi over the alleged racial slur made towards England's Tom Curry, casting doubt over his availability for the final.

England flank Curry claims that the South African star hooker and sometimes captain called him "a white c***".

It is important to note that he registered his complaint with the ref in the 23rd minute when England was on the winning side.

There is also some confusion about the innocent Afrikaans word, which happens to be pronounced the same as the serious swear word. The word "kant" in Afrikaans, has the innocent meaning of "side".

Example: "Bly aan jou kant!" merely means, stay on your side.

The word also sweetly translates to "lace", but it is hard to imagine why Bongi would have called him "white lace" in the middle of a very tough match.

Bongi, the boykie from Bethlehem in the Free State who was educated largely in Afrikaans schools, may have, in the heat of the moment, said something to Tom Curry in Afrikaans that the Englishman could not possibly have understood.

Little was made of the allegation initially, but it has escalated and could have serious implications for South Africa and the entire World Cup.

If Mbonambi is found guilty of misconduct, he could suffer a one or two-match ban, which will certainly have an impact on the player's memories of the World Cup and could have a disastrous effect for South Africa on the outcome of what is going to be a very tight match.

Logically, it will depend on Bongi either denying the allegation or explaining that he was talking about "side" or "lace" or anything but that private part of the female anatomy.

One hopes that it will be sorted out quickly (something World Rugby is not good at) and that we can all get on with the serious business of winning a World Cup.