RUGBY World Cup serial winners South Africa take on England in a mouthwatering semifinal – and referee Ben O’Keeffe will be in charge.
Owen Farrell’s late drop goal fired the Red Rose into the last-four at the expense of Fiji, while the Springboks were forced to come from behind to beat hosts France.
GettyBen O’Keeffe has been selected to take charge France vs South Africa[/caption]
And the man tasked with handling proceedings in this huge match is New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe.
Who is Ben O’Keeffe?
Ben O’Keeffe was born in Auckland, but grew up on New Zealand’s South Island in Blenheim.
He was head boy at his secondary school and has forged a successful career outside of rugby.
O’Keeffe has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Otago, graduating in 2012.
He practises as a doctor in ophthalmology and co-founded a social enterprise called oDocs Eye Care, which aims to create medical technology to help prevent blindness.
O’Keeffe started refereeing in 2008 at the age of 19 and made his Super Rugby debut in 2015.
He has been an international referee since 2016, and actually made his debut in a Scotland game against Argentina.
But his crowning achievement as an official is being selected to referee the second British and Irish Lions test in South Africa.
Ben O’Keeffe comes from a successful sporting family, with his brother Michael having been in the New Zealand football squad for the London 2012 Olympics.
When is England vs South Africa?
England’s mouthwatering semifinal contest against South Africa will take place on Saturday, October 21.It is scheduled to get underway at 8pm BST.Stade de France, Saint-Denis is the allocated arena for this huge Rugby World Cup tie and it can host around 80,000 roaring fans.South Africa ran out 27-13 winners against England in their most recent encounter. Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
