A fit Peyper could still crack World Cup nod
There is still hope South Africa’s top referee Jaco Peyper will be involved at the business end of the Rugby World Cup.
Peyper, who suffered a calf muscle injury in the quarterfinal between Argentina and Wales in Marseille, has to prove his fitness by tomorrow to stand a chance of refereeing in the final on Saturday, or the bronze (third place play-off) on Friday.
If he is declared fit, his appointment will depend on whether the Springboks advance to the final or have to settle for a fight for bronze. Referees are not appointed to matches in which their countrymen are involved.
A top match official involved at the RWC who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said Peyper rated number one referee for the tournament was well on course to at least referee a semifinal before he suffered his untimely injury.
“If it is South Africa against New Zealand, it is without doubt Wayne Barnes who will ref the final. No doubt. If England surprise South Africa, Jaco Peyper, if he is fit by Monday, could get the final. He is undergoing treatment.”
With New Zealand having qualified for the final, their top ref Ben O’Keefe is ruled out of the equation for involvement in the showpiece match.
With hosts France losing to the Springboks at the quarterfinal stage, there might have been the sentiment to hand the whistle to a local. However, top French referee Matthieu Raynal “blew himself out of a semifinal”, according to the official.
Raynal ended the quarterfinal between England and Fiji prematurely, denying the latter an opportunity to potentially win the match off the last play of the game. England held on for a 30-24 win.
“They (match officials reviewing committee) were very critical of him. Courtney Lawes (England forward) stood over the ball when he clearly shouldn’t have. It should have been a penalty to Fiji which would have placed them in the corner,” explained the official.
He highlighted other incidents in the tournament that became big talking points among the match officials. “Another big talking point was South Africa against Scotland, when Jesse Kriel had a head clash, and we all felt he should have been punished with a yellow card.
“In the quarterfinals, Argentina’s clearout on the Wales centre was also debated. The match officials were told that it is understood how they arrived at their decision because it wasn’t foul play, and a lot of people would respect that. But the way we’ve been officiating at the World Cup, the ruling should have been that foul play was committed.
“I know the French are still complaining about O’Keefe’s performance (in the quarterfinal between France and South Africa). I promise you, the whole group agreed that Faf de Klerk’s pass into a French player should have been a penalty to South Africa. We also agreed the head clash on Pieter-Steph du Toit should have been a yellow card against France.
“Everyone was in agreement that Eben Etzebeth’s one-handed slap went backwards. The feeling, however, was that maybe the refereeing team should have stopped the game just to check, to draw the sting from the incident.”
While mistakes were made, the official insisted match officials did not fluff their lines to the extent that the outcome of matches were influenced.
The introduction this year of the bunker review system, that looks at incidents of foul play, had added a layer that helps underpin the integrity of match officials.
England flank Tom Curry’s red card on the opening weekend, however, brought the system into sharp focus.
“Most of the chat in the opening weeks centred around the bunker review system. Curry’s red card should really have been a yellow,” he said.
“The bunker review system works because it takes the pressure off the referee. The only criticism against the bunker, however, is when the TMO refers something he already has a sense of what the decision should be.”