French referee Romain Poite – who drew the anger of many South Africans and was censured by the International Rugby Board – will return to take charge of the Springboks’ first official test match of the year this year when they face Wales in Durban on June 7.
Poite, who ruined the Springboks-All Black clash in Auckland last year by giving Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis two debatable yellow cards, was appointed as the main referee for the clash in Durban and will also run the touch line in the Boks’ other clashes against Wales and Scotland in June.
The French referee’s actions, which were widely condemned in South Africa at the time, forced the IRB to issue an apology over the first yellow card, when Poite ignored TMO advice and the players’ pleas by ruling that Bismarck du Plessis had tackled Dan Carter without arms when replays showed that this was clearly not the case. (How nmuch was he paid is the question - was his bank account examined and any receipts rtraced back to nz? One wonders how this whole thing was investigated.)
The decisions had a far-reaching impact on the Castle Rugby Championship (PLEASE NOTE ALL KBBS!!) as it meant the final clash between the Springboks and All Blacks was heavily sided in the All Blacks' favour and the Boks would need to win without conceding a bonus point while scoring four tries of their own in the game.
Now less than a year later, Poite is back in the top-notch IRB referee appointments, having served just one test in the lower ranks before being promoted again by his fellow Frenchman and head of the IRB referees, Joel Jutge.(HMMMMM THE PLOT THICKENS WILL ROMAN BE THE BRYCE LAWRENCE OF THE NEXT WC??)
Poite had to referee the Samoa v Georgia game in November, missing out on the top appointments, but was given the England v Wales game in the Six Nations, proving that the mistake he made was not seen as a serious one by the IRB.
The other two games – against Wales in Nelspruit and Scotland in Port Elizabeth – will be refereed by Steve Walsh and Glen Jackson of Australia and New Zealand respectively.(GLEN JACKSON!!!! IS QUALITY NOT A CRITERIA. STILL HE MAY IN THESE GAMES NOT BLOW US OUT THE GAME)
Top South African referees have also been rewarded for their form, with Craig Joubert taking charge of Australia v France in Brisbane and Jaco Peyper given the plumb appointment of New Zealand against England in Dunedin.
Peyper will also referee Japan v Italy on 21 June in Tokyo.
South African referees Stuart Berry, Lourens van der Merwe and Jaco van Heerden will run touch during the international season and Shaun Veldsman has been given TMO duties for two tests between Argentina and Ireland.
I JUST HOPE THE NH ARE NOT LEARNING FROM NZ THE KEY INGREDIENT ON HOW TO BEAT THE BOKS?
