World Rugby have been forced to change the match official appointments for England’s semi-final against South Africa just 24 hours before the match. Ireland’s Andrew Brace was originally named as the Assistant Referee 1 for Saturday’s World Cup tie.
But Brace has been forced to be replaced having pulled a calf muscle with World Rugby appointing a replacement. Mathieu Raynal, who took charge of England’s quarter-final against Fiji last week, will take Brace’s place.
The Frenchman was accused of ‘unconscious bias’ by Fiji captain Waisea Nayacalevu following their defeat to England. “Yeah, I’ll be honest. I was frustrated with a few calls,” said Nayacalevu.
“They had already formed a ruck and then [Maro] Itoje just came in and grabbed onto the ball and there was no penalty there. Three times in the game.”
Raynal may not be under the spotlight as much as Ben O’Keeffe though, who will be the on-pitch referee tomorrow night. The Kiwi official was at the centre of a number of controversial decisions in South Africa’s win over France last week.
The French side were furious with O’Keeffe after their narrow defeat with Antoine Dupont questioning his performance. “There’s a lot of disappointment and frustration,” said the France captain.
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“When we watch the match again, there are probably things that will make us even more frustrated.
“I don’t want to be a bad loser and moan about the refereeing. But I am not sure the level of refereeing was up to what was at stake today … [But] that doesn’t take anything away from the South Africans. They played a great game.”
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