Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua’s Ben O’Keeffe
Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua’s Ben O’Keeffe is one of three Aotearoa referees that will officiate at RWC 2019.
O’Keeffe will work alongside Ben Skeen and Brendan Pickerill, making some of the most important decisions of his career. O’Keefe is not shying away from the challenge of being our only Māori referee.
“It’s amazing to be here right now. I’ve been here about a week with all the other referees, we’ve done a lot of team building and getting to know the environment and culture. It’s just been incredible” he told Te Ao last night.
The New Zealand Embassy in Japan received the three referees as guests of honour which was hosting the New Zealand and Australian Parliamentary rugby teams who are due to play in their World Cup final on today.
O’Keeffe addressed the crowd, received light-hearted jabs from the Australians, as he will referee the Wallabies opening match against Fiji on Saturday
“I’m looking forward to being a part of that and refereeing really well, you know, let the players perform their really best”.
He also presented a signed referee’s jersey for New Zealand ambassador Dominic Walton, who wished the officials the best of luck for the tournament. It is the first time Japan has hosted the Rugby World Cup, and all the games that the trio will control are expected to be sold out.
O’Keefe said, “If you perform really well then that’s how they pick who controls the quarters, the semis and the final.
“Ultimately I’m just really happy to be here and to be part of the refereeing team”.
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