England will welcome appointment of jeered referee O’Keeffe too, says Rassie

Paris — The appointment of referee Ben O’Keeffe for a second successive SA knockout game at the World Cup will be welcomed by their semifinal opponents England as well, Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said on Tuesday.

The New Zealand official was jeered off, and criticised afterwards by France captain Antoine Dupont, for his officiating on Sunday, as SA narrowly edged the hosts 29-28 in the quarterfinal with several marginal decisions going the Springboks’ way.

World Rugby raised eyebrows earlier on Tuesday by naming O’Keeffe to handle Saturday’s semifinal, but Erasmus said it is not unprecedented to have the same referee three times in a World Cup.

The 34-year-old O’Keeffe was also in charge when the Boks lost to Ireland in their pool game.

“We also had Jerome Garces as our referee for the opening game of the last World Cup, and then the semifinal and final as well,” Erasmus told reporters near their team base on the outskirts of Paris.

O’Keeffe has yet to officiate England at this tournament, but Erasmus said this will offer neither side any favours.

“I guess it’s a bit of an unknown, either positive or negative. It will be best for the team that stays within the laws and hopefully doesn’t have rugby accidents, causing cards, although I think that’s one thing that Ben has really done well, and I think [England coach Steve] Borthwick will be as pleased if he referees the game like that again.”

Kept believing

Erasmus said England poses a huge “pothole or roadblock” in SA’s way as they hope to defend their title in the final on October 28.

“They are unbeaten in the tournament and have stuck to their guns and kept believing in what they were doing under Borthwick. You can see it’s paying off. They are a team full of belief.”

But amid the praise, he could not resist reminding England of recent results.

“They will be definitely hurting not only from last year when we beat them but also the 2019 World Cup final,” said Erasmus. SA’s own selection process will again be delayed until Thursday as they consider several options and wait to see what team England pick for Saturday’s clash at the Stade de France, he said.

“It won’t be a 7-1 split on the bench,” he said of the Springbok’s decision in two recent Tests to put seven forwards and only one back among the replacements. “With two fit flyhalfs now, we are probably looking at a 6-2 split,” he told reporters.

Reuters