South African President Thabo Mbeki says his government needs to build on the Springboks' World Cup win by investing in the sport at grassroots level.

Speaking at an official reception for the team at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Mbeki said: "One of the mistakes of government these last 13 years has been that we haven't paid sufficient attention to the development of sport, we haven't committed sufficient resources to it.

"We need to use this victory to accelerate the process of getting all our young people, black and white, involved in sport. We are relying on the Springboks to inspire young people to play rugby," Mbeki said.

He urged the country to put aside the dilemmas over player representation and instead focus on ensuring young players have sufficient facilities to train and prepare.