Cape Town's anti-corruption police are investigating allegations that two policemen who negotiated a financial settlement between a taxi driver and five drunk ACT Brumbies skimmed off R1 000 as commission for their efforts.
The officers allegedly handed over only R3 000 to cab operator Riedewaan Abrahams after collecting about R4 000 from the Brumbies.
Five players were arrested early on Monday morning for refusing to pay Abrahams's fare, ripping out his taxi's tariff meter and damaging the vehicle by jumping on the roof.
Earlier they were reported to have behaved scandalously in a Sea Point restaurant, abusing the owner and waitresses until they were thrown out.
Fearing criminal charges after their damage to the taxi they offered financial compensation to Abraham, a settlement which was allegedly facilitated by policemen.
The policemen left the taxi driver at the Sea Point police station and drove the Brumbies in the back of their patrol van to their hotel in Newlands.
But on the way they stopped at two automatic bank tellers where the players reportedly drew R4 000 in cash to compensate Abrahams.
After dropping the Brumbies at their hotel the cops headed back to the Sea Point police station where they allegedly handed only R3 000 to the cab driver.
Abrahams was unaware that the rugby players - Joe Roff, Rod Kafer, Peter Ryan, Owen Finegan and Bill Young - had given R4 000 to the two policemen.
On Tuesday Abrahams said he discovered the truth when he approached team manager Phil Thomson.
Abrahams later received an undisclosed amount - believed to be in the region of R20 000 - from the Australians as further compensation in a bid to persuade him not to lay any charges against the five players.
Now Abrahams is insisting on recovering the missing R1 000 as "a matter of principle".
Jacques Botha, a senior officer at police headquarters in Cape Town, said on Wednesday the allegations were "extremely serious" and that he had ordered an investigation into the matter.
Botha said: "The whole issue of international rugby heroes brushing with the law is sensitive enough but then to have our own policemen capitalising on the misfortune of the cab driver, if it is true, is uncalled for and shocking."