Drama as injury forces referee change during Wales v Argentina Rugby World Cup quarter-final

Colin Newboult

Jaco Peyper going off injured during Rugby World Cup quarter-final between Wales and Argentina.

Referee Jaco Peyper was surprisingly the first casualty of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after he pulled up injured.

The South African was given the job of taking charge of Wales’ clash with Argentina but his afternoon was over after just 15 minutes.

Peyper suffered a calf problem in the early stages of the encounter and, after Wales’ opening score, he was forced to call it a day.

Karl Dickson takes over

He shook the hands of the two captains, Jac Morgan and Julian Montoya, before Englishman Karl Dickson took over for the rest of the game.

While almost all of the focus is on the players and coaches, who work all their lives to compete in a World Cup, it is also a huge occasion for the officials.

Peyper has been one of the best referees around for the past few years and was given the honour of handling the opener between France and New Zealand.

He would have been in contention for the final – providing the Springboks don’t get there – but this injury may scupper his chances.

The South African referee was in his third global tournament but had only done one knockout game before – coincidently Wales’ victory over France in Oita in 2019.

That became famous for Sebastien Vahaamahina’s elbow, and the subsequent picture Peyper took with the Welsh supporters.

Another South African replacement

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, did wonder whether the Boks would use this opportunity to call up a replacement, following on from Handre Pollard’s and Lukhanyo Am’s call-ups.

“Jaco Peyper goes off with a bad-looking calf injury. Hearing that Rassie is asking if they can call up Lood de Jäger as a replacement,” Kevin McCallum joked.

The Peyper incident summed up a pretty chaotic first half, which saw plenty of endeavour, turnovers and a bit of controversy.

Dan Biggar opened the scoring for Wales with a well-worked try before the fly-half extended that lead to 10-0.

Argentina were creating opportunities, however, and reduced the arrears at the break via successive Emiliano Boffelli three-pointers – the second after a scuffle broke out following what Dickson called a “cheap shot” from Josh Adams.

READ MORE: Rugby World Cup quarter-final referees and match officials confirmed

Argentina Jaco Peyper

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