Franco Mostert is confident that South Africa will get a fair shake from first-time World Cup quarter-final referee Ben O’Keeffe when the Springboks and France clash in Paris.
O’Keeffe will lead an all-New Zealand team for the final quarter-final of the weekend between the Boks, the defending champions, and tournament hosts France on Sunday, with Paul Williams and James Doleman as assistants. The TMO is Brendon Pickerill.
It will be a first World Cup playoff for O’Keeffe, who also handled the South Africans’ pool stage match against Ireland.
“You have to analyse the ref, the small stuff, what does he like, how does he like players to talk to him, the respect that you give him,” Mostert told the media in Paris on Friday.
“We have leaders like Siya and Duane who have the ability to speak to the referee. With guys like that, you don’t have to focus on the ref, you just focus on your own game.”
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The experienced Mostert will pack down in the second row with Test centurion Eben Etzebeth as one of 15 players who featured in the memorable 2019 World Cup final victory for the Boks against England.
However, in a change from their usual MO, Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber have gone with five forwards and three backs on the replacements bench.
Mostert, who started off the wood in the famous win over the English four years ago, was asked on Friday if the 5-3 split means the 70-Test lock may have to play for longer.
He added: “We have a lot of trust in coaches Jacques and Rassie, we always trust their plan. With the bench we have this weekend, there is no change for us. We just focus on the game plan we have trained all week.
“We have guys who can play at four or five, guys on the bench like Kwagga [Smith] who can play six, seven or eight. We don’t have to change anything.”
Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP