Nervous 24 hours in store for McCaw

Richie McCaw faces a nervous wait to find out whether he will be free to play the final. Photo / Getty

Richie McCaw faces a nervous day in London as he waits to see if his place in the Rugby World Cup final is confirmed.

The hottest post-match subject after the All Blacks' tense 20-18 semifinal win over South Africa this morning was whether World Rugby would cite the All Blacks skipper for alleged foul play in using an elbow in a collision with Springbok loosie Francois Louw.

As the All Blacks left Twickenham to return to their London hotel, World Rugby's citing commissioner had not acted.

However, tournament rules say he can wait up until 36 hours after a match has finished before laying a charge.

That leaves until approximately 6pm Monday New Zealand time for any action to be taken.

Wynne Gray: McCaw collision innocuous

All of New Zealand will be as anxious as McCaw, head coach Steve Hansen and his team-mates to see whether the inspirational flanker is deemed to have deliberately elbowed Louw and is denied a chance to play his last game for the All Blacks and lead New Zealand to back-to-back World Cup triumphs.

Most neutral observers believe McCaw will escape punishment but New Zealand insiders are nervous given some of the over-the-top citings and punishments already handed out in this tournament.

It would be a travesty if the semi-final was to be McCaw's last on-field act as an All Black - and it would be a brave citing commissioner and judiciary panel that would sideline one of the game's premier players and role models for such a showpiece game.

As he ran toward a ruck, 22 minutes into today's last four showdown, McCaw's elbow appeared to make contact with Louw's head. Louw did not appear to be injured and did not react to the blow. He got up straight after falling and joined the next ruck - where he then stood on the back of All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith.

Louw, blood flowing from his forehead, later left the field to go to the blood bin in the 29th minute but he was not bleeding after the McCaw incident and the wound appears to have happened in another incident.

He returned later with a bandage on his head and finished the game with two wounds to his forehead requiring a total of 20 stitches.

When asked how he received the cuts, the English-based Bath club flanker said: "I'm not sure, I think it was at the bottom of a ruck".

Striking with the elbow - which falls under law 10.4a of dangerous play and misconduct - has a low end sanction of a two-week suspension.

After the match, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen praised 147-test veteran McCaw for his experience and impact on the game: "We've probably got the greatest skipper in the game, and probably the greatest player we've ever seen."

The All Blacks will face either Australia or Argentina in the final with their Rugby Championship rivals meeting at Twickenham tomorrow morning.