Rugby World Cup: Jaco Pepper referees the opening match between France and New Zealand
With less than three weeks to go until the opening match of the Rugby World Cup, all the players in that encounter are now well known. After announcing the selections of France and New Zealand, the Organizing Committee announced, on Tuesday, the appointment of Jaco Pepper as the main referee. The South African is already the man who officiated France’s last XV in the World Cup, the quarter-final against Wales in 2019.
This match was marked by a red card for Sebastian Fahmahina. During the stroke, the second row elbowed his Welsh opponent Aaron Wainwright in the face. A gesture that Jaco Pepper watched for several minutes, before he decided to show the red card, which caused the Blues to fall by a small point.
Although logical, this exclusion turned into controversy after the meeting, when a picture of the South African referee imitating the push alongside the Welsh fans spread on social media. Serge Simon, vice-president of the French Federation at the time, considered this image “shocking”, while an investigation into the Rugby World Championship was opened. Despite his apologies, Jacco Bieber was eliminated in the semi-finals, before returning as an assistant in the third-place match.
Two new rules
Four years later, it will be he who will rule the Blues again during the first, particularly decisive, match against the All Blacks. Eleven other referees will manage the middle of the field, including Frenchman Mathieu Raynal and Englishman Wayne Barnes, who will participate in the Rugby World Cup for the fifth time.
Note that two new rules were formalized yesterday and will be applied during the current World Cup tournament. First, the “bunker” will be used. This regulation allows the referee not to award a red card directly to a player if the situation is not entirely clear. To avoid wasting too much time analyzing the images while the match is stopped, the referee can give a yellow card and make a cross with his arms to signal to the video referee to analyze the situation. The match can then resume, and the referee can award a red card after analysis if the situation warrants it. The clock showing players the time allowed for a conversion or penalty kick has also been validated and will be visible in stadiums across the country.
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