Peyper for Currie Cup Final
It will be Peyper's second final after the first in 2012 when Western Province played the Sharks at Kings Park.
This is the 56 Currie Cup Final as in earlier times the cup that Donald Currie donated to South African rugby was decided by tournaments and later also by a league system.
There have been 27 referees appointed to the finals, 16 of whom refereed one final. André Watson has refereed most finals – seven in all. Apart from Peyper the other currently active referees who have refereed finals are Craig Joubert and Rasta Rasivhenge.
In his wonderful career Peyper has referee 36 Tests and is down for two more next month, both top matches – Ireland against the All Blacks and England against the Wallabies.
Last year Peyper refereed the Super Rugby Final between the Hurricanes and the Chiefs.
He has had awards, such as SARU's Referee of the Year and been voted by his peers as South Africa's Referees' Referee of the Year.
Peyper turned 36 this year and has been refereeing Currie Cup rugby since he was 28. He has a wealth of experience and memories but still looks forward nervously to this week's Currie Cup Final.
It is interesting that there is no comment about his refereeing the final in Bloemfontein, involving Bloemfontein's Cheetahs, just as Craig Joubert of Durban refereed the 2010 Final in Durban. The top referees are seeing referees so much that nobody finds such 'home' involvement unusual or remarkable. They are just referees, known to be right at the top of world refereeing.
Peyper at home is a husband to Zenobia and a father to three-year-old Nina who is expecting the arrival of a sister. Like her husband, Zenobia gets nervous before big matches.
All referees will want to wish Jaco well.
