CONTROVERSIAL REFEREES
Poite and O’Keeffe to be whistle-blowers for Springbok Tests
The Springboks will again have to deal with French official Romain Poite in a crucial match after he was named as the ref-eree for their second Test against England in June. The three-match series‚ which starts on June 9 at Ellis Park‚ is the most anticipated in this country in many years. Poite‚ who has had his run-ins with the Boks‚ will handle the second Test in Bloemfontein where the series could be won and lost. The 42-year-old infamously yellow-carded Bok hooker Bismarck du Plessis against the All Blacks in Auckland in 2013 for what was a legal tackle on flyhalf Dan Carter. That mistake had serious ramifications as Du Plessis was given a second yellow card‚ which meant an automatic red card. In all, he was erroneously off the field for 50 minutes. Poite’s errors caused a huge outcry at the time and World Rugby‚ the game’s governing body, issued a statement confirming the error. It was little consolation for the Boks as they lost 29-15. New Zealand Ben O’Keeffe will have the wh...
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