A leading retailer has been forced to apologise for a racial jab at the Springbok rugby team over the weekend.

A Checkers store attempting to entice rugby fans into buying sweet treats ahead of the game in New Zealand displayed two cakes: one iced with the All Blacks silver fern and the other with SA's Springbok and Protea along with the demeaning slogan "Quota Squad".

On Sunday, Checkers issued a statement distancing itself from the message included on the Springbok cake - blaming a single employee for the embarrassing faux pas.