South African player Toks van der Linde has issued a written apology to a woman he racially slurred in a Christchurch bar last week.

Bernardine Oram said yesterday that she has accepted the apology, issued in a statement released by South Africa's honorary consul in New Zealand Gregory Fortuin.

"I hope that Ms Oram will one day be able to forgive my indiscretion," the statement quoted van der Linde as saying.

Van der Linde, a member of the Western Stormers Super 12 team, was sent home from the club's New Zealand tour after Oram, treasurer of the Christchurch African Association, said the player called her a "kaffir" - a derogatory term for a black South African.

"I know in my heart of hearts that I am not a racist and never intended any malice," said van der Linde, who has played six Tests for South Africa.

Van der Linde is to face a South African rugby union judicial panel on Friday. Oram said she was "deeply humiliated, hurt and angered" by her experience with van der Linde, but she was prepared to accept his apology "in the spirit of the new South Africa".