KwaZulu-Natalian Joubert was the referee in the previous World Cup final in Auckland in 2011, when New Zealand edged out France 8-7 – and if he is in charge again at Twickenham this year, he would join fellow South African Andre Watson as the only people to referee successive finals.
“Hand on heart, my greatest wish is to be sitting in the stands at Twickenham on October 31, watching the Springboks in the World Cup final. Further than that, I’d obviously love to have a successful tournament personally and referee my best.
“Twickenham stands out as one of the world’s great rugby stadiums, so a World Cup there is going to be pretty special,” Joubert told Saturday Citizen.
Joubert, raised in Pietermaritzburg, did an honours degree in finance at the university there and has shown the coolest of heads in high-pressure situations on the field – such as the 2011 World Cup final.
