Ben O’Keeffe’s verdict on controversial 2023 World Cup quarter-final: ‘I’m still proud’
Referee Ben O'Keeffe and an inset of sign criticising his quarter-final performance.
New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe remains proud of his performance in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final between France and the Springboks despite the brutal backlash.
The tournament hosts faced off against the defending champions in the last eight fixture, and it produced one of the greatest matches in World Cup history, with South Africa emerging as 29-28 victors to progress to the semi-finals.
However, the result did not come without controversy, with referee O’Keeffe fielding the brunt of the backlash for several crucial decisions throughout the game.
Eben Etzebeth famously denied France a try by slapping a pass near his tryline, which the officiating team deemed to have crucially gone backwards.
Cheslin Kolbe also charged down a Thomas Ramos’ conversion, and many believe the South African started his run before the Frenchman began his approach to the kick, while there were also suspected head collisions that went unpunished: Pieter-Steph du Toit on Jonathan Danty and Damian Penaud on Etzebeth.
Late in the second half, O’Keeffe also awarded a penalty after Kwagga Smith went in for a steal, but many believe he did so illegally as the Springbok had his hand on the ground when doing so.
Backlash from Antoine Dupont and O’Keeffe’s verdict
After the defeat, France skipper Antoine Dupont hit out at the officiating, saying: “I don’t want to sound bitter, moaning about the refereeing because we lost the match, but I’m not sure the refereeing was up to the challenge.” And the captain’s remarks only fueled the online criticism of the officials.
However, O’Keeffe says that he is still ‘proud’ of his performance that night and has learnt throughout his career to handle the pressure and criticism that come with the high-profile matches.
“There’s that old saying that pressure is a privilege,” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“The more high-profile games you do, the more in the headlines you’re going to be; you see that with multiple referees. We’ve had Wayne Barnes, Jaco Peyper, Nic Berry, and Craig Joubert. All the biggest games you do, the closer they are, the tighter the margins are, so you have these moments.
“Like going from the first Test in that Lions series in South Africa to having to referee the second Test after everything that came out in the media after the first Test and obviously the Super Rugby 2023 final.
“Obviously, I won’t forget that year because there was a lot after that because it was a very tight game again, some tough calls in that game as well and then going from I think the biggest one for me is that World Cup.
“Having a quarter-final where you have the host nation [France] versus South Africa, and probably one of the best first halves of rugby I have ever been involved in. I loved being a part of it. But then you get a game which is 28-29, and a team loses by one point.”
Ben O’Keeffe reacts to Antoine Dupont’s criticism after France’s Rugby World Cup defeat
The aftermath
While the reaction from the quarter-finals continued the following week, O’Keeffe’s attention turned to reviewing his performance and then preparing for the next biggest game of his career, the semi-final between England and South Africa.
“Referees go through reviews, the coaches, public, and the nation go through reviews as well. So they go through it in a bit of detail,” he continued.
“Look, we get a lot of decisions right in the game technically or for the game as well, but we also make errors. I’m still proud of how I refereed that game, especially with some of the decisions that we had to make, and believe I was the right person to referee it.
“The interesting thing was all the aftermath that happened afterwards, and World Rugby trusted me to do the next biggest game of my career, which was the semi-final of the World Cup – England versus South Africa, the week after.”
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He added: “What I found difficult in the days following was the trial by media that happened afterwards, emotionally charged and fair enough as well, a nation had just been knocked out of a World Cup, which is probably the biggest games in the world that you do.
“The review goes on, you reflect on the review, and there are a lot of questions. I remember being in public and just walking to the gym with my referee colleagues, and people were videoing me. My sister came through customs, and she was asked if she was related to me. She didn’t know anything about what was going on; she was just there to support me. So she said yes and wondered why she got a bit of a funny look.
“I was sort of dealing with it in a week where normally you spend the whole week preparing for your next big game. It was a big week, a big learning experience, and I loved being able to get onto that field. I had some good processes that looked after me that week, and then when I was warming up and leading into the game, I went out there and refereed England, South Africa, and did a really good job.”
Being remembered for France-Springboks quarter-final
O’Keeffe’s name will forever be synonymous with that game in many circles, but the New Zealander states that he accepts it and does not allow it to factor into his performances in big games.
He pointed to Wayne Barne as an example, as the Englishman was renowned for his handling of the 2007 World Cup quarter-final between France and the All Blacks, when he missed a forward pass in the build-up to a try for the former, who went on to win the match.
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That decision stuck with Barnes throughout his career, and O’Keeffe believes that France-South Africa is that game for him.
“No, I’m not scared of that at all,” he said when asked if he fears being defined by one decision or game.
“I think it’s probably already happened with the games I’ve done. Over in France, they’ll remember me for that quarter-final; I’ll never be able to shake that. I’ll be remembered for different games over here [in New Zealand] as well.
“Two of the best teams in the world really put it on that day. So, it was a pleasure to be part of. For me, though, who is Wayne Barnes? What decision is he synonymous with? And for me, it’s actually being one of the greatest referees in the modern era to actually bring our game forward in our group. He was our leader for many, many years, and I saw him referee some of the top games in the world, like the best that anyone ever could.
“People choose to remember you for certain decisions, but I think a lot of people will remember you for really great decisions as well.”
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