Honiss nears record
12 Jul 2006
New Zealand referee Paul Honiss will become his country’s most experienced match official when he blows the game between Australia and South Africa on Saturday.
Honiss stands on 37 Tests at the moment, which is the same amount of matches officiated by Paddy O’Brien. Refereeing the Vodacom Tri-Nations game in Brisbane will not only take him past O’Brien, but closer to the world record of 43 Tests, which is currently held by Derek Bevan from Wales.
While he may not be particularly loved by South Africans, Honiss is well respected by his peers.
“Paul is an exceptional referee and he has demonstrated that on the world stage. This achievement is a credit to his outstanding ability and drive to succeed at the top level,†New Zealand Manager for High Performance Refereeing Keith Lawrence said.
Honiss began his international refereeing career in 1997 in the Test bewteen Tahiti and the Cook Islands, and has since officiated in two World Cups.
23 Comments
12 Jul 2006, 07:52 am
Well done #1
12 Jul 2006, 07:52 am
OK sorry #2 I see
12 Jul 2006, 08:04 am
aaaah da Koos – how about a comment on rugby????
Congrates Paul Honiss, anyone who serves rugby in the way you have deserves some respect.
Dont be swayed by the some of the mindless fans who complain, once they have refereed a couple of top level matches then they can comment.
12 Jul 2006, 08:08 am
Whadda ya mean naaada, I did congratulate the fellow, always thought he was a fair ref.
12 Jul 2006, 08:09 am
hey koos, do you remember when that ozzie got your name wrong! what a bladdy terrible typo haha
12 Jul 2006, 08:13 am
kiwi refs are the worst agaisnt south africa whatr are you okes on about thats bad news for the boks
12 Jul 2006, 08:16 am
Hehehe Breeker, it was very funny!
12 Jul 2006, 08:17 am
at least Honiss has a sense of humor, i remember in the super 14, the sharks where playing and john was getting ordered to give his team a warning about disipline and then said to john that he would make sure that the other team doesnt play on and both him and john had a laugh, at least he admitted his mistake and isnt continually kak, however my views might change according to this weekends game
12 Jul 2006, 08:26 am
Ja, hopefully he still feels guilty about the Ireland game and blows for us or at least be neutral and not be out to punish the Jaaps. Refs can subtly swing games with their marginal decisions.
12 Jul 2006, 08:33 am
Got to respect him, one ballsup and the whole of SA go mad, it was probably a miscomunication at worst.
12 Jul 2006, 09:00 am
I don’t like Honiss, but he is at least fair.
The trick with him is that he tends to favour the attacking side. So it is really useful to retain possession, even if not going forward. Eventually he will ping the defending team, for something that another referee might not.
If Jake White plays to this, he will do fine. If he ignores this, then there will doubtless be more ignorant outbursts about how NZ refs favour Australia (like that is EVER going to be true) because the penalty count will rack up against the Boks.
12 Jul 2006, 09:02 am
In defence of “the whole of SA” who have gone mad. Honiss did cost us the game, and it was a fairly major ballsup on his part. And if you listen to what he said on the refs mike it definitely wasnt miscommunication. He shafted us.
As you can tell Im not ready to forgive or forget.
12 Jul 2006, 09:08 am
wls, why do we have to respect him?
PS. did you used to post as ‘Warren’?
Chief, ignorant outbursts about the ref make up 34.2% of the entertainment that is rugby.
12 Jul 2006, 10:20 am
Good choice, probably the right choice. But whoever the ref is should be a deciding factor. It matters more what happens between the four lines on Saturday and how we play the ball!
12 Jul 2006, 10:59 am
I feel sorry for anyone attempting to watch this game now. Honiss will get confused with his other job, a postman, and blow his whistle all night long.
I think I might sell my ticket and just watch it on TV now.
12 Jul 2006, 14:09 pm
Talking about slating the refs, did anyone hear the comments against the SA ref. from the Ausie manageemnt team after the Aus v Nz game?
Strange thing was, the ref was correct in every call exept one aginst the Ausies. 6 out of 7 correct of the points put forward by the Ausies is very good at this level,he should be congratulated for it.
Its all a bit of fun in the end and part of the modern game – But the Ausies went to far this time and i feel they should be brought to book by the IRB for this.
12 Jul 2006, 16:27 pm
Well , done you o’Gara lover!
12 Jul 2006, 19:04 pm
Why would a NZ ref be biased in favour of Australia? First we have to live with Australia’s inferiority complex and now we must put up with accusations of pro-Aussie bias!
12 Jul 2006, 19:09 pm
i dont mid the kiwi refs at all.
i got problems with the aussies, like dickheadson.
12 Jul 2006, 19:40 pm
I thought that Paddy would have had more
12 Jul 2006, 20:55 pm
Did Paddy retire?
What makes an international referee retire? Is the abuse from the fans and players getting too much, or do they just get tired from it all and want to settle down with there families?
13 Jul 2006, 05:25 am
You Know what thought did hey?
13 Jul 2006, 05:33 am
Post 3 just got bummed out . Just a nadaaaaa day for him to release all his frustration. Koos don’t worry Nadaa does this now and again he makes these cameo appearances and craps out who ever comes first . He’s been trying for a long time to get that no1 spot but just can’t make it.
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.