Appointment of criticised ref will be welcomed by both England and Boks: Erasmus

The appointment of referee Ben O’Keeffe for a second successive South Africa knockout game at the World Cup will be welcomed by their semifinal opponents England too, Springbok 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 the Boks narrowly edged the hosts 29-28 in the quarterfinal with some marginal decisions going the South Africa's way.

World Rugby raised eyebrows naming O’Keeffe to handle Saturday’s semifinal on Tuesday, but Erasmus said it was 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 a press conference near their team base on the outskirts of Paris.

O’Keeffe has yet to officiate England at this tournament, but Erasmus felt this would 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. Though I think that's one thing Ben has really done well, and I think [England coach Steve] Borthwick will be as pleased if he referees the game like that again.”

Erasmus said England pose a huge “pothole or roadblock” in South Africa’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 and 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 be hurting not only from last year when we beat them but also the 2019 World Cup final,” said Erasmus, who added that South Africa’s own selection process would again be delayed until Thursday as they pondered several options and also waited to see what team England pick for Saturday’s clash at Stade de France.

“It won’t be a 7-1 split on the bench,” he added of the Springboks’ decision in two recent Tests to put seven forwards and only one back among the replacements.

“With two fit flyhalves now, we are probably looking at a 6-2 split.”

Reuters