A South African rugby writer has demanded New Zealand referee Paul Williams be banned from running elite international matches after his handling of Saturday's Test match between the Wallabies and the Springboks.

Writing for The South African, rugby scribe James Richardson said Williams "[brought] the game into disrepute".

"Williams has brought shame onto the game of rugby with one of the worst officiating displays in modern rugby," he said.

The Wallabies beat South Africa 25-17 in Adelaide, with Bok halfback Faf de Klerk shown a yellow card after a seemingly innocuous contact on the face of his opposite number Nic White.

White fell to his knees dramatically after the Bok No 9 had grasped at the ball and ended up brushing his hand against the Australian's mustachioed face.

Richardson was damning of the decision against de Klerk: "Paul Williams bought into play-acting from Australia scrum-half Nic White, whose actions have no place in the sport at all. Williams and White bring the game into disrepute.

"Williams' diabolical decision-making robbed the Springboks of momentum and points and changed the nature of the game. This referee has no place taking charge of big games and should be banished to the bush leagues for the rest of his days."

John Smit, who captained the Springboks to World Cup victory in 2007 tweeted: "[White] just killed a little piece of rugby's soul today."

Butch James, who played first-five for the Boks in 2007, was similarly outraged. "It's a disgrace to the game of rugby that a player can behave like that."

The Kiwi referee was also criticised by South African supporters for not penalising Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete following a dramatic try-saving tackle on Makazole Mapimpi.