Andrew Cole - ready for Newlands
Third Tri-Nations match
Andrew Cole is a quiet man, slight of build, gentle of speech and he is the man responsible for seeing orderly, sporting behaviour between two of rugby's greatest rivals, South Africa and New Zealand at Newlands in the second Tri-Nations encounter of 2005, his second huge match this year.
Andrew Cole of Brisbane in Queensland is a long way from the bravado and bombast so often associated with rugby. But there he is in the midst of them in his efficient caring way, and he has been having a great year in a great career as a referee.
"It's my 29th Test," he said to this website, "and I never thought I'd do one."
In fact it took him 20 refereeing years to get to his first Test. He started at the age of 17, soon after leaving the great Brisbane School, Marist Ashgrove. He refereed his first Test in 1997, when Samoa played Tonga in Apia and won 62-13. It has been a long road of experience and achievement since then, including appointment to the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
He has refereed five Six Nations matches and now his third Tri-Nations match.
"For an Australian referee Tri-Nations Test is the best we can normally hope for," he said.
His first was at Ellis Park in 2001 when he replaced Peter Marshall who was injured – a dramatic match which the Springboks won 46-40.
"It was my first experience of Ellis Park and the bottles rained down till Andre Venter, bless him, told them to stop."
The second was that incredible match in Christchurch last year.
"Nobody had given the Springboks a chance and they were within second of winning."
That was the match when they messed up a line-out throw near their line and a turn-over and Doug Howlett scored in the corner to give New Zealand a 23-21 victory.
Last month Cole had the highlight of his career – the second Test between New Zealand and the British & Irish Lions.
"We get a chance to referee the Lions only every eight years. I won't be around in 2009 when they come to South Africa. That's what makes it so special."
It was not just special, but intense as well.
"It was everything in one game," Cole said. "There was the build-up and the external pressures we are not used to in Australia.
"I can walk down a street in Brisbane and nobody will take any notice of me, because rugby is not the No.1 sport.
"It's different in New Zealand, and it started on the flight from Brisbane because there were many Lions' supporters on the plane, staying in Brisbane and flying to Christchurch for the Test."
Joël Jutge refereed the first Test of the series with Cole and Stuart Dickinson on the line. Then came the Wellington Test with Cole in the middle.
Before the first Test Jutge had a meeting with the Lions with the battery of their coaches plus Dave McHugh, the ex-referee travelling with the team. Jutge was amazed. Before the second Test Cole saw them and just Clive Woodward, Andy Robinson and McHugh were there – but it still lasted an hour and a half.
"A bit over the top," Cole said. "After all what is a referee likely to change between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening? By Friday I have done my physical and mental training. Nothing changes after that."
Saturday evening was the second Test at Westpac Stadium.
"They said the Lions didn't turn up for the first Test. They certainly turned up for the second game. The pressure just did not stop. It was intense and a lot was off the ball. It became a tough job to keep perspective and still let the players play. It would have been no good to keep blowing the whistle. I had to find a balance between keeping control and keeping the play going."
The Lions series was special and is gone. Now it is the Tri-Nations.
"Matches between South Africa and New Zealand," Cole said, "are the nearest we get to the sense of history that you get with Six Nations matches.
"They are always matches filled with passionate intensity and are in themselves matches of high quality because these teams are always near the top of world rankings They set the shape of rugby."
And what about Jake White's concerns about the line-out, as reported to him by Woodward?
"He is talking about what happened in the first Test. There were problems with the line-outs then, but there were no problems in the second and third Tests. I don't anticipate that it will be an issue at Newlands either. That's all long gone now."
Cole came to Cape Town for the match with his wife Amy, a stay of just under a week. Andrew and Anne-Maree Cole are both dentists with a big practice in Brisbane. Andrew is a professional referee and away a lot, which means that Anne-Maree runs the practice.
Away a lot? "Yes, probably five months of the year in total – not as much as South Africans but a pretty hefty slice into the year."
When he is at home, Cole works at the practice three mornings a week, which leave shim time to train and do father things with his children.
There are three children – sons Michael and David who are 17 and 16 and at Marist Ashgrove and daughter Megan who is 14 and at All Hallows.
Father's absence tends to be taken for granted. "In the early days they would hang onto you leg, now they just wave and say, 'See you, Dad', as if you were going off to work and would be back just after five."
Michael finishes school this year and so the family went on a six-week holiday to Europe last year. In fact organising special things for holidays has been important to keep the family together, but it has been a difficult balancing act.
Referees, it seems, do a lot of balancing – family and referee, work and refereeing, and then, on the field, control and composure.
Not around in 2009? Andrew John Cole was born in Brisbane on 1 October 1960. He may be a bit beyond the physical demands of refereeing, apart from anything else.
