England will look to bounce back from their dramatic defeat at the hands of New Zealand last weekend as they host Australia at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick’s side lost out to the All Blacks in chaotic circumstances, as Mark Telea’s late try handed the visitors a 24-22 win with George Ford then missing a penalty and last-gasp drop goal attempt that would have won them the game.
They will be hoping to get their autumn campaign back on track against the Wallabies, a team they have lost to just once in their last 11 meetings. In fact, the last Australian win on English soil came at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, when they triumphed 33-13 to knock the hosts out of their own tournament during the pool stage.
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The man in charge of today’s proceedings is New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe, a well-known official who has dealt with his fair share of controversy over recent years. Here’s what you need to know about today’s referee.
Who is Ben O’Keeffe?
Born in Blenheim, New Zealand, in 1989, O’Keeffe started refereeing at the age of 19, turning professional five years later.
He has gone on to become New Zealand’s most capped Test referee, taking charge of his 47th match during this summer’s Rugby Championship to surpass Paul Honiss’ record, while he has also won the New Zealand referee of the year award three times and officiated at two World Cups.
As well as being recognised as one of the best rugby referees in the world, O’Keeffe is a qualified ophthalmologist, a doctor who cares for patients with eye conditions. He co-founded oDocs Eye Care which aims to create technology which can prevent blindness.
“Certainly, no one can question my eyesight,” he said previously. “I’m an ophthalmologist. I’ve been lucky enough to balance both careers over the last couple of years as being a professional referee has become a full-time commitment.”
Also away from the field, O’Keeffe recently got engaged to journalist Wilhelmina Shrimpton, who worked with his brother before following the referee on Instagram. After a year together, they are now preparing to get married with O’Keeffe popping the question in September.
“I’ve always wanted a family. I’ve always wanted a house where you can just settle down and be happy,” he previously said. “But I’ve always wanted to do that with the right person, so I’ve waited. Now I’ve found Wilhelmina, I’m sure all of that stuff will happen.”
World Cup controversy and horrifying fan encounter
At last year’s World Cup, O’Keeffe was selected to take charge of the highest-billed match at the tournament as South Africa faced France in a blockbuster quarter-final.
The match had everything, with the Springboks knocking out the tournament hosts with a dramatic 29-28 victory on their way to securing back-to-back World Cup wins, but it was O’Keeffe who attracted much of the bad press following the clash.
The breathless encounter was hardly without incident, with Eben Etzebeth avoiding a red card for a hit on Uini Atonio while also receiving no punishment at all for an early interception which, while deemed to have been knocked backwards, was an extremely tight call.
South African star Damian de Allende also received no punishment for an apparent forearm to the head of Antoine Dupont, while Kwagga Smith illegally forced a crucial turnover at the breakdown when his hand was on the ground – but no penalty was awarded.
With the scoreline so tight and so much at stake, O’Keeffe soon felt the wrath of Dupont who claimed the referee was “not up to the level” required for such an occasion.
“It’s hard to talk about these things because there’s lots of disappointment and frustration,” the scrum-half said. “We could have had some penalties at crucial moments.
“I don’t want to be a bad loser and moan about the refereeing but I don’t think the refereeing was up to the level of what was at stake. It’s not just one person, there are TMOs, assistant referees and they have time to review images as the game is going on. This doesn’t take anything away from South Africa’s performance, they played a great game.”
O’Keeffe dismissed Dupont’s comments, saying that he understood they had been made “in the heat of battle” and at “a very emotional time.” However, the impact that the match had on the referee was significant as the brutal days that followed saw him confronted by fans and left him feeling scared being out in public.
In RugbyPass’s Whistleblowers documentary, O’Keeffe is seen leaving the field at the Stade de France to a chorus of boos before describing the atmosphere as “crazy” when he returned to the dressing room. However, it was about to get much harder.
“The week after the quarter-final, it was one of the toughest I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “I did feel scared around being in public, I just didn’t want to lock myself in my room though. I was starting to second guess, like can I actually go out in public now?
“In the meantime, I’m trying to prepare for the biggest game I’ve ever been involved in. It took me a lot to get my head in the right space. To be hated by a nation isn’t nice.”
He went into more detail about that week in a video series by the All Blacks on mental health and rugby, as he explained. “We knew as referees going into that game that there was going to be controversy no matter what,” he said. “I guess I hadn’t really prepared myself for the level of criticism and the onslaught that came in afterwards.
“I’d done the semi-final and I was actually in the bathroom and someone came up to me and asked me if I was Ben O’Keeffe. I said yes and he said ‘look, I told my friends if I ever saw Ben O’Keeffe in real life I was going to kill him.
“I was in a corner of this bathroom, cornered by this person and three other people and I just got out of there. Those sort of moments really affected my mental wellbeing and my mental health. I started questioning myself again.
“What I did is I went back to my processes around how I would deal with it and it came down to being vulnerable, being open, telling my referee colleagues how I was feeling, telling my friends and family how I was feeling,” he added. “The moment I did that, it helped me make better decisions during the week, it helped me understand what I needed to focus on for the [semi-final] game and it helped me get out of that hole where you’re angry, you’re clouded, your thought processes are jumbled. I could go out there and be a better referee but be a better and happier person as well.”
Surprisingly, O’Keeffe was then put in charge of the Springboks’ dramatic semi-final over England, where he was again met with what he described as “f***ing loud” boos and jeers by a largely French crowd. However, he faced more accusations of bias in this contest, with Lawrence Dallaglio claiming he had “won South Africa the game” after handing them a decisive penalty in the 77th minute, which the former England star branded “questionable”.
Coach’s public apology
However, last year’s World Cup was not the first time that O’Keeffe had faced accusations of bias, with Eddie Jones also making those claims during his time as England coach.
The now-Japan boss took aim at the official following a Six Nations match in 2020, in which his side lost 33-30 to Wales in an epic encounter at Twickenham.
An incident-filled game had seen Manu Tuiliagi shown a red card while Ellis Genge was also sent to the sin bin as the Red Roses finished the encounter with 13 men. Following the game, Jones couldn’t resist a dig at the New Zealander, claiming: “It was 13 vs 16 at the end,” before adding “it’s absolute rubbish”.
However, the coach’s comments led to him being reprimanded by the RFU, who made a full apology to the official and warned Jones over his future behaviour.
“The Rugby Football Union does not condone comments that in any way undermine the integrity of match officials, who are central to the sport and its values,” said RFU CEO Bill Sweeney. “We have discussed with England head coach Eddie Jones the nature of the comments he made … and have made it clear that such comments are not in line with the values of the sport or the RFU.
“Eddie and the RFU regret any implication that Ben O’Keeffe was biased in his decision-making. We have outlined this position to the tournament organisers the Six Nations and World Rugby, who will pass on our apologies to Ben O’Keeffe and the match officials team.”
O’Keeffe has since been defended by former top referee and South Africa’s national law advisor Jaco Peyper, who shut down any suggestions that the New Zealander is biased towards any team.
“If you have the privilege like me who lived with Ben in an environment for 10 or 12 years, you know he’s a medical doctor and he’s a very smart man,” said Peyper. “He is so balanced, such a good individual but as a referee, and I know from experience, that if you listen to those outside voices and if you look at this match as anything different than trying to do the best for this match and deal with what’s in front of you that’s when it gets messy.
“He won’t think of any of those things, he’s too experienced, and Ben will just try do a good job and service this game. It’s a play-off for any referee, this game decides the championship and Ben has done British and Irish Lions games that have decided the outcome of the series, he’s done World Cup quarter-finals and us against Ireland at the World Cup.”
England v Australia referee lineup
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Television Match Official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Split Screen: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
