England Rugby World Cup semi-final ref already accused of bias before South Africa clash

England are set to take on South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

Ben O’Keeffe will officiate England’s match against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semifinals on Saturday, despite the fact that the New Zealander was criticized by France captain Antoine Dupont after his team lost to the Springboks in the quarterfinals last weekend. In addition, O’Keeffe has already been under fire from former England head coach Eddie Jones, who blasted the official after a Six Nations game in 2020.

In a match that saw Manu Tuilagi get sent off and Ellis Genge get sin-binned at Twickenham three and a half years ago, England upset Wales 33-30. Jones hissed: “It was 13 vs 16 at the end.” After the Australian’s outburst, the RFU censured him and issued an apology to the official, saying they “regret any implications that Ben O’Keeffe was biased in his decision-making.”

Several calls against the Rugby World Cup hosts were made during France’s match versus South Africa. What did you think of it, Dupont asked reporters after the competition. There is a lot of irritation and disappointment, making it difficult to talk about things.

“There were a few obvious instances where the whistle should have been blown. I don’t want to be a whiner and complain about losing, but I don’t think the refereeing today was up to the standard of the game.

Jacques Nienaber, the head coach of South Africa, backed O’Keeffe, saying: “I think Ben was good on the day. You might say that we prevailed, therefore that is why I’m saying that.

We scored four tries, missed one or two, and made one from the tee in an effort to remove the referee from the game. It went nicely for us. As for the decisions he made, I think his communication was good on the day.

Siya Kolisi, the captain of the Springboks, continued, “From our side, all we can do is play rugby. The decisions the referee makes are beyond our control. The conversation with him and the calls he made were fair, but we will need to examine the game. I never would question the referee. Antoine undoubtedly has his own viewpoint.

In four of their five Rugby World Cup encounters, England has fallen to the Springboks, who also defeated them in the 2007 and 2019 championship games. Steve Borthwick’s team is a heavy underdog to defeat South Africa in their most recent match and will require good luck to advance to the Rugby World Cup final.