Craig Paul Joubert (born 8 November 1977) is a South African professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

and a Referee Talent Development Coach at

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. Joubert officiated in domestic first class matches in South Africa since 2003, in matches in the Vodacom Cup and

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

competitions. He refereed on the World Rugby Sevens circuit in 2003–04. He has been included in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

refereeing panel since 2005 and has also refereed international test matches since 2005, making his debut in a match between the United States and Wales. Joubert took charge of Super Rugby finals in 2010, 2013 and 2014 and has officiated in Tri-Nations / Rugby Championship matches since 2009, refereeing matches between Australia and New Zealand in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. In the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

, Joubert refereed four pool games, a quarter final, a semi-final and the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. He refereed the deciding Six Nations match in 2012 and one of the British & Irish Lions games on their tour to Australia in 2013. He took part in four pool games at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the quarter final match between Scotland and Australia. During that quarter final, he was criticised for incorrectly awarding a penalty to Australia in the final minutes, which Australia converted to win the match 35–34, and for rushing off the field at the end of the match. He retired from refereeing 15-a-side matches at the end of 2016 to take up a role as a Referee Talent Development Coach at

Early career

Joubert was born in 1977 and attended Maritzburg College and then the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

to study business finance. Joubert took up refereeing in 1995 as a teenager, when he was encouraged to do so by his father Des, who was also a referee at provincial level. He initially worked in corporate banking for a period of five years, before deciding to take up full-time refereeing, becoming a member of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Rugby Referees' Society.

2003–05

In 2003, Joubert officiated in several first class matches in domestic South African competitions, appearing in the Vodacom Cup and Vodacom Shield at the start of the year before taking charge of matches in the Currie Cup qualifying rounds, the First Division and eventually in the Premier Division of the

when he took charge of the match between the

Griquas The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cape ...

and the Pumas in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

. After the domestic season, Joubert joined the

2003–04 World Sevens Series The 2003–04 Sevens World Series was the fifth edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, organised by the International Rugby Board. The series was held over eight tournaments, an increase of one over the previous yea ...

circuit. He returned to domestic action for the 2004 Vodacom Cup and

2004 Currie Cup 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

competitions and was named on the South African refereeing panel for the 2005 Super 12 season. He officiated at his first Super 12 match in Sydney when the New South Wales Waratahs beat the Chiefs 25–7 in the opening round of the competition. Two more appearances followed – again in Sydney as the Waratahs faced the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

and in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

where the Highlanders hosted the Waratahs. He officiated his first test match in June 2005, when he took charge of a match between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, before again officiating in the South African domestic Currie Cup competition, where he refereed the First Division final between the Falcons and the Pumas.

2006–11

He refereed a further five matches in the 2006 Super 14 season – which included his first appointment to a match played in South Africa in the trans- Jukskei derby between the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

and the

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

– and in domestic action in the

2006 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2006 ABSA Currie Cup season was contested from June through to October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for rugby union clubs in South Africa. The tournament was controversial before it even began, with the Southern Spears sag ...

. He refereed in both those competitions throughout 2007 and 2008, and also took charge of the promotion/relegation play-off match between the Boland Cavaliers and the Griffons. After taking charge of seven matches in the 2009 Super 14 season, he refereed the British & Irish Lions' match against the Golden Lions during their

tour of South Africa The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour as a 2.2 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, clas ...

. He took charge of both matches between

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and Australia hosted in New Zealand in the

2009 Tri Nations Series The 2009 Tri Nations Series was the fourteenth annual Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively nicknamed the All Blacks, Wallabies, and Springboks. The Sprin ...

, as well as the

2009 Currie Cup First Division The 2009 Absa Currie Cup First Division season was contested from 11 July through to 16 October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for provincial rugby union teams in South Africa. The Currie Cup tournament (also known as the Ab ...

final between the Pumas and the

SWD Eagles The South Western Districts Eagles are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournament. They represent the Southern Cape (Garden Route & Klein Karoo regions) and play out of Outeniqua Park i ...

. In 2010, Joubert was in charge of several

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

matches including being appointed as the referee for the final between the Bulls and the Stormers in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a se ...

. He once again took charge of a match between Australia and New Zealand in the 2010 Tri Nations Series and was appointed to officiate the final of the 2010 Currie Cup Premier Division between the and Western Province in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He refereed several matches during the 2011 Super Rugby season, including the semi-final match between the Stormers and the Crusaders in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

. He also had a further appearance in the

2011 Tri Nations Series The 2011 Tri Nations Series was the sixteenth annual Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively nicknamed the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks. It was also t ...

, officiating the New Zealand versus Australia match in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

2011 Rugby World Cup

He was named on the refereeing panel for the

, and took charge of four matches during the pool stage of the competition. He also officiated the Quarter Final match between

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

, the semi-final between Australia and New Zealand and the

between New Zealand and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, in the process becoming the youngest referee ever to officiate a final. Joubert was publicly criticised by French players

Dimitri Yachvili Dimitri Yachvili Markarian (born 19 September 1980, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scor ...

Dimitri Szarzewski Dimitri Szarzewski (; born 26 January 1983e) is a former French rugby union footballer. His usual position was at hooker, and also represented France. Szarzewski's first club was AS Béziers Hérault where he played from 2002 to 2004. He played ...

and Maxime Mermoz for his performance in the final. Gerry Thornley, writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', was of the opinion that France was the better team on the night, with Joubert being reluctant to award penalties against New Zealand in the last quarter of the match. '' Sir Clive Woodward'' was of the same opinion

2012–15

In 2012, Joubert took charge of the 2012 Six Nations Championship match – and Grand Slam decider – between

and

and was also involved in the very start of the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying tournament, as he officiated the first match between

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

in the Americas qualification tournament. He again officiated during the

, including taking charge of the semi-final match between the Chiefs and the Crusaders. He made one appearance in the 2012 Rugby Championship in the

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

versus Australia match in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

and took charge of the Currie Cup promotion/relegation play-off match between the and the

Free State Cheetahs The Free State Cheetahs (formerly the Orange Free State), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, for sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by th ...

Craig Joubert, skeidsregter in Super Rugby-halfeind 2013

After officiating in seven matches during the 2013 Super Rugby season, Joubert was put in charge of a match between

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in a quadrangular tournament held in South Africa and also the second test match between the British & Irish Lions and Australia during the 2013 tour series. When the Super Rugby season resumed after the international break, Joubert was appointed to referee the semi-final match between the Bulls and the Brumbies and also the final a week later, as the Chiefs hosted the Brumbies in Hamilton. He again took charge of an Australia versus New Zealand clash in the 2013 Rugby Championship and in domestic rugby in the

2013 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 75th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 10 August to 26 October 2013. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) was th ...

, as well as the Currie Cup promotion/relegation play-off match between the Pumas and the Griquas. He officiated fifteen matches in the 2014 Super Rugby season, which included his second consecutive final as the Waratahs hosted the Crusaders in Sydney, where again he come under criticism for a late penalty he awarded in favour of the Waratahs giving them the win. The following day Joubert contacted both Crusaders Coach Todd Blackadder and Crusaders Captain

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rug ...

to apologise, announcing to both that he got the final call wrong. Joubert officiated the Argentina versus New Zealand match in the 2014 Rugby Championship in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from ...

. He refereed several matches in the

2014 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 76th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 9 August to 25 October 2014. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is th ...

, including the final between Western Province and the Golden Lions. At the conclusion of the 2015 Super Rugby season,

announced that Joubert would return to the World Sevens Series for 2015–16, in an attempt to earn a selection to officiate at the rugby sevens event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

2015 Rugby World Cup

He was named on the refereeing panel of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and took charge of four matches during the pool stage of the tournament. He was also appointed to officiate the quarter final between Australia and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, which Australia won 35–34. However, Joubert's decision to award a last minute penalty to Australia provoked outrage among Scotland supporters, as well as former players like Andy Nicol and Matt Dawson, after replays showed that Joubert had awarded the penalty erroneously. Scotland wanted Joubert to refer the incident to the television match official (TMO); but he was prevented from doing so by TMO protocol, so had to judge the incident in real time. Following a review of the referee's performance,

stated that Joubert should not have awarded the penalty. However, this public review of Joubert's performance also attracted criticism from figures within the game, such as Australia coach

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league. Cheika was the coach of the Australi ...

and former player David Campese In addition, Joubert was also criticised by former Scottish captain Gavin Hastings and former Scotland winger

Kenny Logan Kenneth McKerrow Logan (born 3 April 1972) is a retired Scottish rugby union player who played wing for Stirling County RFC and Glasgow District at amateur level; Glasgow Warriors, Wasps RFC and London Scottish at professional level; an ...

for rushing from the field immediately after the match ended, rather than shaking hands with the players and fellow officials, as is the tradition.

2016

After his spell officiating in the

2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series The 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 17th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by ...

, Joubert was included on the list of referees that would take charge in the Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also remained active in the fifteen-man version of the sport, officiating in the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. In May 2016, he was appointed to officiate the versus match, his 100th appearance in the competition. He retired from refereeing 15-a-side matches at the end of 2016 to take up a role as a Referee Talent Development Coach at

. While the job would mainly consist of developing younger referees, he would continue to referee on the World Rugby Sevens Series.

References

External links

ESPN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert, Craig 1977 births Living people South African rugby union referees Alumni of Maritzburg College University of Natal alumni Super Rugby referees Rugby World Cup referees The Rugby Championship referees Six Nations Championship referees