Is Etzebeth race scandal hampering Boks performance in Japan?

The SA Human Rights Commission is planning to take the 27-year-old to task over the allegations in the Equality Court.

It would appear the Springboks are maintaining a united front in Japan in light of the ongoing Eben Etezebeth scandal.

Etzebeth was accused of racially abusing a homeless man during a night out in the Western Cape in August, something he denies.

But the SA Human Rights Commission is planning to take the 27-year-old to task over the allegations.

The Boks are currently in Japan for the Rugby World Cup, going up against Italy on Friday, journalist Gerald Imray says so far the team's not letting the scandal affect the work they need to do.

Siya Kolisi spoke to us today and says Eben is not affected, the team is not affected, they're focussed, there's no distractions, but it's hard, that kind of stuff does seep into teams.

Gerald Imray, Associated Press

It would be hard not to be (distracted) and the timing of this is very inconvenient for the Boks. It comes two days before this huge game against Italy. If they lose this game they'll almost certainly be knocked out.

Gerald Imray, Associated Press

Imray says so far there's been no sense of disunity in the team.

They're a united front at the moment, there's no sense of any divisions in the team.

Gerald Imray, Associated Press

Meanwhile, SA Rugby has launched its own internal investigation into the allegations.

Listen to the full interview below:

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