He speaks French and is appreciated by the Blues staff. Who is Ben O’Keefe, the referee for the France-South Africa match?
The blues is set. The International Rugby Federation announced in a press conference that New Zealander Ben O’Keefe will officiate the Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between France and South Africa, scheduled for Sunday at 9pm at Stade de France. At the age of 34, he will blow the starting whistle for the Blues match for the second time in the tournament, after the match between France and Uruguay (27-12) in the group stage. France has been penalized 14 times.
O’Keeffe will referee his fourth World Cup match, and also refereed the Springboks’ match against Ireland (8-13). He has been booed in 10 matches for the French XV, amassing a record of 5 wins and 5 defeats, including a huge win in England during the last tournament (10-53) or a narrow defeat in Scotland (21-25). . In preparation for this world championship. The New Zealander also officiated a match between the Blues and South Africa in June 2017 (37-15 for the Springboks). The South African national team achieved 6 wins, one draw and two defeats.
According to our information, the New Zealander is one of the referees appreciated by the French crew, who particularly praise the quality and clarity of his refereeing in the rift zones, where the fight is expected to be particularly intense against the world champions. He will be assisted by a 100% New Zealand trio with Paul Williams and James Dolman on the sidelines and Brendon Pickrell in the video.
He has already managed in the best 14 matches
In civilian life, Ben O’Keefe is an ophthalmologist. Last season, he officiated a number of the 14 matches as part of inter-hemispheric exchanges. He lived in France for six months and speaks French fluently. His brother Michael was the goalkeeper for the New Zealand Olympic soccer team during the 2012 London Olympics.
A few hours before this confrontation, Frenchman Mathieu Raynal will be at the heart of the quarter-final match between Fiji and England, in Marseille. The previous day, South African Jaco Bieber will referee the Wales-Argentina match (5pm, in Marseille), while Englishman Wayne Barnes will referee Saturday evening’s match between Ireland and New Zealand (9pm, Saint-Denis).
“Proud explorer. Freelance social media expert. Problem solver. Gamer. Extreme travel aficionado.”