Craig Joubert talks about his career
A young referee going a long way
Craig Joubert is in Rome to referee the Test between Italy and Argentina who are on a high after beating England at Twickenham last weekend.
Craig is in the Eternal City with his wife Charmaine – the young referee in the ancient city – and he thinks it is marvellous.
Craig played for Natal as a flyhalf at the Under-13 Craven Week and, like Ian Rogers before him, started refereeing at that great rugby school, Maritzburg College. He had an added incentive, for his late father, Des Joubert, was a provincial referee.
Craig talks about his career.
I had always wanted to emulate the most admired person in my life, my dad, in refereeing rugby. I had seen the good times he had shared with his mates through refereeing the game, far beyond the years of his playing career, and wanted to have similar experiences.
I was a student at Maritzburg College in my formative refereeing years and Saturday morning is rugby heaven at the home of the “Red, Black, White” with up to nine fields on the go at any time. Experienced referees such as my dad Des, Brian Moore, Ian Cairns, Gummie Barnard, Warwick Hulbert, and many others, would happily give up their Saturday mornings to run behind junior schoolboys like myself and Craig Strachan to make sure we were up to the rigors of College vs DHS in the Under-14E.
In time I was moved on from Goldstones at Maritzburg College to Woodburn Stadium to referee men’s rugby, where the players don't call you “sir”, the coach encourages his players to put the referee under pressure and a penalty for foul play doesn't result in a trip to the Headmasters office on Monday morning. Needless to say I learned that man management is an important tool in the referee's tool box.
After my first ever overseas trip to England with Phillip Botha in 1997 (and on which trip I met up for the first time with English referee Wayne Barnes) I was chucked into the exciting world of provincial rugby in South Africa.
Here suddenly I was jetting off on weekends to famous stadiums I had only previously seen on TV to referee. My first trip to Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria brought back all the memories of Tony Watson's famous try in the 1990 Currie Cup final when Natal beat Northern Transvaal to win the Currie Cup for the first time ever.
Similarly my first trip to Ellis Park brought back memories of the greatest day in South African rugby history when Joel Stransky knocked over the drop kick to win the William Webb Ellis trophy and sent a country into delirium.
Just when I thought it could not get better I was invited to referee on the IRB world Sevens circuit in 2003/2004. With a great bunch of referees from all over the world we toured Dubai, George, Wellington, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bordeaux and London together, refereeing and having fun. We trained hard and refereed seriously but had more fun. There was the night in Las Vegas, golf at the Emirates golf course in Dubai and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand and many hours of entertainment at the famous “court sessions” at the conclusion to each tournament.
In 2005 André Watson retired and Andy Turner took up the CEO post at the Lions which created a spot for me to realise a long time dream, to referee Super 12. And so the next step of my career typically involved much travel Down Under and across the “Ditch” (the Tasman Sea) to New Zealand to be a part of the action-packed and thrilling Super 12.
I realised my boyhood dream to referee a Test match when I was appointed to my very first IRB Test Match, Wales vs USA in Connecticut in June 2005.
Highlights?
Refereeing my brother, playing for Merchiston Prep vs Pelham Senior Primary on Goldstones at Maritzburg College as the curtain raiser to my Dad refereeing Maritzburg College vs DHS in 1993.
Kokstad (Natal Midlands) schoolboy tournament in 1997. A great trip with my two great refereeing mates, Craig Strachan and Andrew Nicholson, which ended in song round the piano well after the official post tournament ceremony had ended!
My entire IRB Sevens career and especially the World Cup Final between NZ and Fiji in Hong Kong.
My first Super 12 game between Waratahs and Chiefs in Sydney
My first IRB Test match in Connecticut between USA and Wales
My role model is my late Dad, Des Joubert. I remember the players always knowing that they would get a fair go when he was in charge. He taught me that refereeing is mostly about managing people in a respectful yet assertive manner.
Ambition?
The 1995 Rugby World Cup stirred something in me. The anthems are one of my favourite traditions about rugby test Matches, I still have the CD of all the National Anthems from that tournament. On that CD is the official Rugby World Cup Anthem as well – it is special. To referee at a Rugby World Cup would be the ultimate prize in my refereeing career and a dream since Nelson Mandela declared the 1995 Rugby World Cup open.
Fact File:
Full name: Craig Paul Joubert
Born: 8 November 1977 in Durban
Education: Maritzburg College, University of Natal where he graduated B.Com (Honours in Business Finance)
Occupation: Full time referee – previously Corporate Banker
Wife’s name: Charmaine
Referees’ society: Maritzburg Sub Society of the Natal Rugby Referees
Started refereeing: 1992
