All Blacks captain called out for 'clear and professional foul'

All Blacks skipper Kieran Read is at the centre of a controversial moment that went unpunished in his side's Rugby World Cup win over South Africa.

Following Wallabies coach Michael Cheika's anger over the decision to cite Reece Hodge for a dangerous tackle, questions are being asked as to why Read has escaped punishment for a similar offence.

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Eagle-eyed spectators found footage of Read taking out Pieter-Steph du Toit as the Springboks flanker attempted to tackle Kiwi halfback Aaron Smith.

Read catches his South African rival with a swinging arm around the neck as he attempts two put pressure on New Zealand from a lineout.

The incident went unnoticed at the time and no retrospective action has been taken against Read, unlike Hodge's citing from the Wallabies' win over Fiji.

South African rugby writer Brenden Nel has led calls for an explanation from World Rugby, after posting video of the incident online.

Nel labels Read's actions a "clear and professional foul" and suggests rugby officials are guilty of turning a blind eye over incidents involving the All Blacks.

Coach praises ‘fortitude’ shown from All Blacks

Despite the controversial incident, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and his skipper said they were encouraged by their side's defence and discipline in the victory over the Boks.

Two tries in four brilliant minutes proved the difference in the Pool B opener on Saturday but the holders struggled to find much rhythm and had to ride out a brief Springbok scare in the second half.

"We won, didn't we? So you've got to be happy with that. Were we perfect, no but you're never going to be at this stage of the tournament. You're not in the swing of the tournament and right from the get go you've got the biggest game possibly of the group," Hansen told a news conference.

"There is plenty of stuff we can work on. The boys showed a lot of fortitude, we didn't get too many opportunities and we took them when they came and we scrambled really well when they had opportunities themselves. Both those areas are really important to us."

Hansen highlighted flyhalf Richie Mo'unga's potential "match winner" of a cover tackle on the electric Cheslin Kolbe, just after South Africa had cut the deficit to one score in the second half.

With two staunch defences going head to head in a game that produced only 12 combined line break, Hansen said it was a case of having to take what you are given and for New Zealand that was two stunning breakaway tries.

"It was really hard early in the game for us, our set-piece wasn't as nice as you'd expect it to be and therefore you can't have a platform to strike off. The boys adjusted okay and as the game got on, they started to get a bit more fluid with it," he said.

"It's an area that we're just continually working on, we're making progress but you can't strike if you don't get TQB, which is top quality ball at the set piece."

With AAP