French sorry for anthem 'debacle'

Dumisani gave an unconventional rendition of the South African anthem

The French rugby union have apologised for the way the South African national anthem was performed before last Friday's Test match in Toulouse.

Reggae singer Ras Dumisani was accused of ruining the song with a bizarre rendition of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika that left many in the crowd laughing.

French union president Pierre Camou said the performance was a "debacle".

South Africa rugby president Oregan Hoskins said: "They've offered their unreserved apologies which I accept."

Dumisani, who was born in Durban but now lives in France, gave an unconventional rendition of the anthem before the match, which France won 20-13.

Some people claimed he appeared to be struggling to remember the lyrics. The song features five of South Africa's official languages and and is a combination of two songs - the apartheid-era Die Stem and the one-time anthem of the African National Congress.

The singer himself pronounced himself quite happy with his performance and revealed a number of people in the stadium had congratulated him on it.

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But Hoskins added: "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.

"It is something that would never be allowed to happen in this country. But I obviously accept that there was no deliberate intent by the French rugby union to sabotage the anthem and, as much as the performance still rankles, we regard the matter as now closed."

Some of the Springbok players said they were distracted by the performance. Lock Victor Matfield said: "It was a joke out there and the guys couldn't even sing along.

"Even the crowd was starting to laugh. 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."

The South African embassy put forward this man France team manager Jo Maso

However, France team manager Jo Maso ensured the bizarre story took another twist when he revealed it had been South African diplomats who had had chosen Dumisani to perform - not French officials.

"Every time we welcome a foreign side, we ask the embassy to propose people for the national anthems," said Maso.

"It's the South African embassy that put forward this man and we respected their choice."