Until Sunday evening, 9 p.m., Ben O’Keeffe has everything to please the average French person. Perfectly bilingual, the referee of the World Cup quarter-final between the “Toto” Dupont gang and South Africa was already blowing the whistle when the Blues went to correct England at Twickenham (10-53), during of the last VI Nations Tournament.
Friendly smile, physical to integrate the MCU for yet another Avengers, the New Zealand ophthalmologist also co-founded Odocs Eye Care, a company intended to make eye care more accessible on a global scale. In summary, seen from Toulouse, Brest or Nouméa: O’Keeffe displays the profile of a candidate for canonization rather than that of a future public enemy number 1, like the Welshman Derek Bevan or the South African Craig Joubert in their time.
A little dive into the past for the youngest: the first had led the semi-final of the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, won (19-15) by the Springboks against the Blues of Abdel Benazzi, who had seen refused a test in the last minutes for a reason as obscure as the origin of the Basque language. Bevan will win a gold watch at the post-final banquet, and the cinema will be very forgettable Invictus by Clint Eastwood.
Joël Dumé and “zero errors”
As for Joubert, he displayed a touching kindness during the final moments of the 2011 final, in front of the balls rotted more or less legally by the All Blacks of Richie McCaw, winners of France (8-7) in their Garden of Eden Auckland Park.
Questioned at the time by 20 minutes, Joël Dumé, then national technical director of French arbitration, however spoke of “coherent arbitration”. “We didn’t hear him whistle much because he didn’t want to decide the score with his whistle,” the old international whistle at the three World Cups (1995, 1999 and 2003) added about Joubert. He refereed without whistling. Only clear and obvious faults were made from the score 8-7. »
Twelve years later, Joël Dumé remains on the same wavelength about the pressure that will weigh on the robust shoulders of Ben O’Keeffe, Sunday at the Stade de France: “It’s about trying, even more than usually, to make zero errors, in any case not to make an error which would have an influence on the score, which I imagine to be close, details the current refereeing consultant for Rugby Europe. Today, there is a lot of help, video in particular, and we can talk about real three-way refereeing, with very sophisticated assistant referees. Everything comes together for zero errors. »
What arbitrage in “money time”?
We are not about to relive the scenario of the famous France – All Blacks of 2007 (20-18), when the Englishman Wayne Barnes had validated a try from the host nation of the World Cup (even if this quarter-final was played at Cardiff…) despite a huge advance ahead of the action concluded by Yannick Jauzion.
We still insist, with our specialist. We talk about the famous “money time”, with fatigue and the irrational element that can surround these moments…
For 70 minutes, we must whistle what is clear and obvious and in the last 10 minutes, what is even more clear and obvious, which is not open to dispute. It’s difficult, but that’s the strength of great referees, experienced referees. They know how to manage these last moments. Because we always remember what happened in the last 10 minutes. »
According to the 63-year-old Girondin – and exaggerating a little – it will really take a crude dive into the opposing camp or a tackle to the glottis to see O’Keefe take action in the final moments. All right. But let’s imagine 80,000 Tricolores, minus a few hundred Sud’Af, who are shouting behind their favorites trailing by one point on Sunday as the siren approaches, pounding the opposing line again and again. Will the Kiwi game director not be tempted to raise his arm towards the French camp at the slightest fart from any Bok?
“The influence of the public? I’m not worried about that, replies Dumé. We are not talking about beginners, but experienced referees. The four men chosen for the quarter-finals [O’Keeffe, Mathieu Raynal, Jaco Peyper et Wayne Barnes] each have 50 or 60 international matches on average. »
In addition, the Frenchman points out “very consistent ground game refereeing since the start of the competition”. However, this is really the Bermuda triangle of rugby, where the difference between a valid and irregular “contest” can vary according to World Rugby instructions and the personality of the man in black. “What we whistle for some, we whistle for others,” explains Dumé. If we haven’t whistled an action in the first minute, we’re not going to whistle it at the last. »
When we talk about pressure with Joël Dumé, we are speaking to a specialist who, during his long career, notably officiated on the sidelines during the famous South Africa – New Zealand 1995 final. Next to him, France – Sunday’s Springboks, “simple” quarter-final, it’s a Playmobil in a sink, to quote Bernard Frédéric in the film Podium. Even if, as always before this type of match, the management of the visiting camp, fearful of a possible national preference, sends more or less discreet messages.
Erasmus’ misinformation
Rassie Erasmus, director of rugby after having been the coach of the 2019 world champion Boks, said at a press conference on Tuesday: “what the French do well is that when there is a high tackle situation, they show it to the referee. I think they fake it sometimes, which is smart. » Last November, Erasmus had already shared several videos on Twitter to challenge refereeing decisions during test matches lost against Ireland (19-16) and France (30-26).
“Of course, there is the experience of social networks, which did not exist before and amplify things,” recognizes Joël Dumé. But the four referees chosen have enough experience to concentrate on their match and not listen or read what is being said elsewhere. »
In addition, O’Keeffe already knows the guilty pleasures of each team, which he has led once each in groups: France during the purge against Uruguay (27-12) and South Africa during of the sumptuous defeat against Ireland (8-13).
In total, the New Zealander officiated in 10 matches for the Blues, for a balanced record until Sunday (five wins – five defeats), including a largely lost test (37-15) against the Boks in Durban in June 2017. which seems to come from another century, with Scott Spedding, Kevin Gourdon and Yoann Maestri starting. Damian Penaud scored a try for his first selection. At the Stade de France, the future UBB winger could mark his 36th in Blue, his seventh in this World Cup. But we obviously won’t have to count on Ben O’Keeffe to help him.