Zimbabwean-born prop Tendai Mtawarira WILL play for South Africa against France in Toulouse on Friday and there is no chance of the government stepping in to prevent him from taking to the field.

This assurance comes from Johan Prinsloo, the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Rugby Union, in the wake of renewed reports that the Sports Ministry will attempt to block his participation in the opening Test of the Springboks' year-end tour.

We can also reveal that an "administrative oversight" is what caused the furore this past fortnight and almost resulted in Mtawarira to be withdrawn from the tour.

It has been claimed that Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has still not given permission for the man known to all as the 'Beast' to play for the Boks.

However, Prinsloo revealed that he will take to the field.

"Yes, that is why we refer to our statement of last Saturday," Prinsloo told this website, when asked about the prop's availability.

He admitted that the problem occurred through an oversight, because of a regulation that came into affect in 2007 - four years after Mtawarira arrived in South Africa.

While Mtawarira does not have permanent residence, nor does he have a South African passport, Prinsloo confirmed that he has a work permit which was obtained by the Sharks - his South African province.

He has also met the International Rugby Board's three-year residency requirements and thus qualifies to play for the Boks on those grounds.

However, the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act of 2007 is what caused the problem and it appears that certain regulatory requirements - such as informing the minister of a foreign national playing for the Boks - were not met by the SARU administration.

"When we became aware of the matter, we tried to expedite the matter and approached the Minister [of Sport & Recreation, Makhenkesi Stofile] to assist us," Prinsloo said.

"He [Stofile] came back to us and said that there are certain procedures to be followed.

"We should have applied for the necessary documentation earlier, but we will rectify that," Prinsloo told this website, adding: "Obviously there are other processes to be followed and we acknowledge that and don't have problems with that."

The "administrative oversight" explains why Mtawarira was allowed to make his Bok debut in 2008 and has played in 19 Tests since, without as much as a murmur from the government.

It was only recently that they became aware of Saru's failure to comply with the 2007 Act, all while Saru officials believed the documentation obtained by the Sharks four years earlier, were sufficient.