Henry thrilled with Joubert appointment
18 Oct 2011
All Blacks coach Graham Henry believes that referee Craig Joubert’s good rapport with the players bodes well for Sunday’s World Cup final.
On Monday, Joubert was announced as the man to handle the showpiece match. In a tournament where referees have been heavily criticised for some dubious calls and in some instances a lackadaisical approach, Joubert has stood out as the most fair and consistent official. Many feel he deserved the final appointment, and Henry is among his admirers.
‘He’s a very good referee, relates well to the players, is very clear in his instruction, has got a lot of composure and has developed as one of the top refs in the world,’ Henry told stuff.co.nz. ‘It’s pleasing because the players enjoy playing when he’s referee, and that’s a sign of a good ref.’
Joubert handled the breakdown well in last week’s semifinal between the All Blacks and Wallabies. While France have no out-and-out fetcher to counter New Zealand’s Richie McCaw, they have also been impressive in this facet of play. If they dominate the collisions, then they could also obtain just reward from Joubert, a referee who favours a dominant, attacking side.
Meanwhile, Henry has confirmed that the All Blacks have no serious injuries following Sunday’s game in Auckland. Centre Ma’a Nonu (shoulder), Cory Jane, Andy Ellis (both nose) and Piri Weepu (virus) are expected to be available for the final.
195 Comments
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18 Oct 2011, 13:17 pm
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-105:
Your fellow countrymen must be very embarrassed by your posts but we love them.
Keep em coming – as much as you like.
18 Oct 2011, 13:19 pm
@poppa69(p0ppa69)-147:
Yes ……………………………………apparently Gert Mulder sent him post card telling him how great it was.
18 Oct 2011, 13:20 pm
@JL1(JL1)-150:
Big cherub JL.
Big cherub.
8)
18 Oct 2011, 13:23 pm
@cane(cane)-131: Frik du Preez of whom it was said after Northern Transvaal beat WP in the 1969 Currie Cup final: “Hy score, hy drop en hy place.” For those too young to remember that, and also for the benefit of those who don’t understand Afrikaans, Du Preez scored a try, landed a drop goal and also kicked a penalty in a Man of the Match performance. So the translation is: “He scored, he succeeded with a drop-goal and kicked a place kick (ie penalty).”
18 Oct 2011, 13:23 pm
@cane(cane)-149: He is still not worthy of being an All Black
Piri,Byron and Marshall better that him, even now with some of them sitting in a studio or eating fromage
18 Oct 2011, 13:24 pm
@ cambok – so did naas botha …. you left out that he was a LOCK!!!!
18 Oct 2011, 13:25 pm
@cane(cane)-109: …and the scrum hald dive pass
18 Oct 2011, 13:26 pm
@Inevitable(Inevitable)-151: He sounds like Ben Stiller in Starsky and Hutch, after the dance off competition…..”we was robbed!!!!”
18 Oct 2011, 13:26 pm
@JL1(JL1)-157: hald=half
18 Oct 2011, 13:27 pm
@rossoneri(rossoneri)-158: …and on que a traitor arrives
18 Oct 2011, 13:34 pm
@poppa69(p0ppa69)-156:Apologies, I should have stated that. He was a great lock but first played for the Boks in 1961 as a flank. And you’re right, those three different scores in the 1969 CC final were special only because he was a lock
18 Oct 2011, 13:44 pm
@cane(cane)-131: Hey Cane, did you know that after du Preez was named Springbok of the Century, Colin Meads named him the best he played against. And Willie John MacBride described du Preez as the best player he ever played against (came up against him in the 1968 series agaianst Tom Kiernan’s British Lions).
18 Oct 2011, 13:57 pm
Frik du Preez & Danie Gerber = the Tendulkar & Bradman of rugby!
18 Oct 2011, 14:02 pm
@poppa69(p0ppa69)-163: Nicely put! Old enough to remember Gerber play. A genius with a ball.
18 Oct 2011, 14:05 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-48:
@poppa69(poppa69)-52:
easy there poppie…you havn’t won the thing yet…dont wanna set yourself up for the mother of all ‘foot in mouth’ incidences…
otherwise, pray tell it wont be so, for the next four years i’ll be the one ‘loving it’…
18 Oct 2011, 14:26 pm
@cane(cane)-149: Well for his sake that’s good to hear, I supose some of the biggest tossers on the field are actually really nice guys off it so fair enough. I must say that was the only name I could think of…..
18 Oct 2011, 15:57 pm
…well of course Henry is thrilled that Joubert will ref the final, he was kakking it that it might end up being some retarded ozzie or even worse…a home town kiwi ref like Bryce Lawrence.
probably the first instance in the history of the game when a team would not want a home town ref for purely “rugby reasons”.
18 Oct 2011, 16:32 pm
@cambok(cambok)-162:
Don’t waste your energy Cambok. Facts are simply not relevant when it comes to Bok players.
18 Oct 2011, 17:04 pm
This is a very interesting read, it gives you an idea of how kiwis think and cheat … during master plan Mitch said he was surprised that Gatland did not resort to cheating.
” The Wales coach Warren Gatland was so incensed with what he felt was an unjust red card shown to his captain, Sam Warburton,early in the first half that he considered retaliating by cheating and ordering a prop to fake an injury so that scrums would have become uncontested.
Wales were immediately in trouble up front after Warburton’s dismissal for a dangerous tackle on the France wing Vincent Clerc, one man down and the tight-head prop Adam Jones had already been replaced after tearing a calf muscle. They used the centre Jamie Roberts as an eighth forward on attacking scrums.”
Inbread kiwi cheating phuckers.
18 Oct 2011, 21:08 pm
I’m confused, what did you expect Henry to say …
18 Oct 2011, 21:10 pm
That’s like quoting Henry in saying that he expects the French to be up for it and that they are a very good side …
18 Oct 2011, 21:36 pm
@cambok(cambok)-162: Meads also named Walter Spanghero of France as his most difficult opponent ever. He’s a diplomat, is old Pinetree!
19 Oct 2011, 01:47 am
Having watched Aus-Boks game again, phew, BL biased my foot. So many times Boks went from the side (hello, Habana/Burger & Co.), Burger reaching the face of Pocock, Aussies tackled in the air, Brussow in his mere 18 minutes managing to play on the floor etc. etc. (yawn … ) etc. etc.
All unpunished.
Of course, Aussies were unpunished in many instances, too.
Lawrence was VERY lenient indeed. To both sides. Biased? Only in SA but we are used to cyclops.
By they way, in that case you should give away BIL victory. It was Bryce who gave it on the plate.
19 Oct 2011, 01:56 am
@Nils(Nils)-173: you never say anything useful. If you did, you would reference game times for your accusations, but hey, you probably have Real Madrid losers, hoping for attention on Barcelona forums (not).
On the ref: Joubert last honest man standing?
19 Oct 2011, 01:57 am
And what’s more, the last crucial penalty was given not by Bryce – he, as usual, turned blind eye (but I’m sure moaning okes conveniently skipped that). It was spotted by the assistant.
A FRENCHMAN (hello, HG).
Poite, to be exact.
19 Oct 2011, 01:58 am
@svs(svs)-174: hi, cyclop.
19 Oct 2011, 02:12 am
@svs(svs)-174: One example, cyclop, 57:18 see Burger coming from the side and gently trying rip off Pococks head.
19 Oct 2011, 02:13 am
Starting with his eyes, as he loves to do.
19 Oct 2011, 02:20 am
And 59:05 JP Pietersen tries to rip off Ioane’s head while tackling him in the air, cyclop. see, mere 2 minutes full of unpunished ****.
19 Oct 2011, 02:31 am
Oh, and tell me what the kind of rocket is Spies (18:21), a V2? And what Brussow is doing on the floor at 19:02, cyclop?
19 Oct 2011, 02:48 am
And say hello, cyclop, to Habana at 15:12, Bryce soon penalized Jannie duP while Habana repeatedly came from the side earlier.
19 Oct 2011, 03:01 am
hey, listen to that Nils….
silence
19 Oct 2011, 03:02 am
And Morne Steyn’s should charge on Ioane without the ball, when he was racing away 43:31, cyclop.
19 Oct 2011, 03:03 am
maybe there are some chicken bones stuck in some throats causing an automatic and uncontrolable reflex
19 Oct 2011, 03:07 am
@hashi(hashi)-182: If Bryce were biased, Burger surely would have been sent off or at least binned for 10 mins. But he must have soft spot for him, spared in BIL series, when he should have seen red in the very 1st min.
Nah, Bryce was too lenient.
19 Oct 2011, 03:08 am
@hashi(hashi)-184: Chicken bones from a well earned braai at home?
19 Oct 2011, 03:12 am
Remember guys.
Always always always take care when eating braai’d chicken while watching the final on TV.
19 Oct 2011, 03:13 am
@hashi(hashi)-187: Good one. Point taken.
How’s 7th/8th place playoff with England? (I know, it’s a 4 year old joke)
19 Oct 2011, 03:20 am
@Nils(Nils)-188: How’s 7th/8th place playoff with England?
Answer: Who Cares?
19 Oct 2011, 03:23 am
@hashi(hashi)-189: Indeed.
19 Oct 2011, 03:24 am
@hashi(hashi)-189: Cheers, have a great tomorrow.
19 Oct 2011, 03:28 am
Slightly off topic however.
The NZRU has already begun planning for 2015. Dingo will win another 4 year tearm with the Wobblies, and plans are in motion to install John “its a journey” Mitchell as the new Boks coach. The NZRU already has a secret mission underway to have Tana taking over coaching duties for Les Blues and Sean Fitzpatrick to coach England. They already have Wales. They already have the refs in the pocket. The final piece of the puzzel will be to get real control of the IRB.
19 Oct 2011, 03:35 am
@hashi(hashi)-192: Nice. POB let it badly slip last time.
No more from now on.
20 Oct 2011, 05:42 am
from NZ Herald:
Joubert is a breath of fresh air in the once stuffy corridors of world rugby refereeing. He has clear views about the game and about the referee’s role. He does his job with a calm, unemotional tone.
Take refereeing accountability. The South African said referees should be open to the media.
“Yes, and even admit we were wrong if that was the case,” he says. “I see no harm in this. Not one hour after a game because you need time to reflect, perhaps study the tape.
But maybe the next morning.
“If it helps explain situations and decisions to a wide rugby audience that may not have understood certain calls, so much the better. I think it is possible that might come into the game in the years to come. We will see.
“We are all in this game because we love it. So I don’t see why there can’t be a relationship between referees and the media which is open and honest.”
He says modern players are clever about exploring the boundaries of the rulebook.
“Players at the top of the game are very up to speed with the laws” is his diplomatic way of putting it. “They certainly know the finer aspects of the law. They go out every weekend to see to what extent they can push the boundaries. And they will play to the latitude you give them.
“Our job is about creating an environment where boundaries are set and then they will react to them.”
Joubert espouses a creed whereby respect is probably mutual. Go out and treat players like children in a schoolmasterly manner and the chances are, they’ll behave as such. Treat them like adults, respect them and there is more likelihood they will respond in kind.
“You have to deliver your message authoritatively, but with respect. Treat them like men, not children. They are grown men and none of us like being treated like children.”
Joubert has been refereeing since he was 16. He eschewed a playing career to focus on officiating so for someone of just 33, he has a huge amount of experience. His appointment for the final is a triumph for that strategy and a tribute to his much-loved late father, Des, also a referee, who died when Joubert was 17.
“When he died it was a tough blow to get over. I was really close to him as a man but also we shared the refereeing. I hope he is sitting up there somewhere watching. I like to think that.”
Joubert is a highly professional, meticulous operator of his craft. And given his age he is likely to rewrite all refereeing records before he finishes.
On the field, the South African offers a countenance of resolute calm. But is it like the duck on water, body serene but out of sight legs going like the clappers?
“There is definitely an element of that. These occasions do get the blood pumping. Before a game, I am like the players; I get nervous and have butterflies in my stomach. But I like that, it means you are keyed up and ready for an important task.
“I think it is important players out there look to me for some level of calm, some rational thinking. If I start looking flustered and out of control it’s a really bad brand to put on the game.
“I have worked hard to make sure my exterior is calm and rational. That comes with experience. Refereeing is so much about having confidence, telling yourself you have been through these experiences before. In my early days, sometimes I used to referee four games in a day so I have had a huge amount of experience.”
And afterwards? The adrenalin and emotion will still be pumping into the wee small hours of Monday morning. Mentally, he says, you are shattered after a game. “But that buzz and adrenalin that has been built up all day certainly means you struggle to switch off. Going straight to sleep isn’t easy even though mentally you are drained.”
20 Oct 2011, 06:09 am
Well Jake white is on a charm offensive in NZ, looking for a job on the all black coaching team no doubt. You saffas have learnt a thing or two from us!
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