Henning gets Springbok XV match
Testimonial to a great referee
Tappe Henning, recently retired from international refereeing, has been appointed to referee the match at Ellis Park on 3 June between a Springbok XV and a star-studded World XV.
André Watson, South Africa's manager of referees and a top referee till recently, a colleague and friend of Henning, said that "the stature of the game was befitting of a man who has dedicated so much time and effort to refereeing in South Africa".
Watson said: “From the point of view of SA Rugby Referees, the match will be a testimonial game for Tappe. The IRB gave us the opportunity to appoint the match officials, and we picked Tappe. It’s a way of saying 'thank you' for services rendered to the profession in our country.”
Henning was asked to pick his own team of match officials. For touch judges, he chose Jonathan Kaplan and JC Fortuin. As television match official he opted for André Watson. Fourth and fifth officials are Mark Lawrence and Willie Roos. Henning chose Dr. Louis Wessels, chairman of the Blue Bulls Referees' Society when Henning became a referee, as his assessor.
Henning says he is thrilled. “It’s a wonderful opportunity. Not many referees end their careers on such a note. It’s a fine gesture from SA Rugby.”
It is not a Test match. The last South African to referee a Test with the Springboks was Fransie Muller, now a top assessor.
Henning joined the Northern Transvaal Referees' Society in 19876 and came onto provincial panels in 1993. He refereed a Currie Cup final in 1995, his first year on the Currie Cup panel, and in 1997 the Super 12 final, just the second Super 12 final. In 1995 he refereed his first Test – Scotland against Samoa at Murrayfield. In all he refereed 18 Tests, making him the third most capped South African referee after André Watson and Jonathan Kaplan. In 1999 he was a touch judge at the World Cup but in 2003, mysteriously and controversially, missed out on selection for the World Cup.
Henning, who is presently in New Zealand where he will be the touch judge in the first Super 14 final, has refereed 240 first class matches, among them 87 Currie Cup matches, 53 Vodacom Super matches, his last being between the Cheetahs and the Cats in Kimberley this month, and 18 Tests, including Six Nations and Vodacom Tri-Nations.
The World XV has many star players, iincluding Carlos Spencer, Justin Marshall, Matt Burke, Thomas Castaignède, Joe Roff, Christian Califano, Raphaël Ibañez, Owen Finegan, Olivier Magne and Toutai Kefu.
