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Cape Town - Retired South African referee Jonathan Kaplan has commented on the performance of the referees in the past weekend's Currie Cup semi-finals.
Jaco van Heerden was on duty in the game at Ellis Park, in which the Golden Lions thrashed the Sharks 50-20, while Pro Legoete was the man in charge as Western Province beat the Blue Bulls 31-23 at Newlands.
Kaplan, writing on his website, www.ratetheref.co.za, praised Van Heerden for a "tidy" effort but admitted that Legoete had an indifferent day at the office.
Kaplan wrote: "Jaco van Heerden, who got roundly criticised last week in France, delivered a tidy performance. The players were responsive, and he allowed them to deliver a good spectacle. If I have a criticism, it was the non-awarding of what looked like a clear penalty try for Lions dominance at a sequence of scrums midway through the first half of the fixture. Perhaps inexperience, or perhaps just a poor read on the play, it should not detract from a very good game in his first semi-final from this highly thought of match official.
"Pro Legoete was the referee (at Newlands) in his first semi-final. He deserves credit for his appointment and although he too interspersed some iffy calls with (a) lack of confidence and poor reads, he will be able to look back on a season where he could not have dreamt of the reward he received."
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett also criticised the performance of Legoete.
Speaking in the SuperSport studio after the game, Mallett said: "I think it was a poor game of rugby compared to the first match. The skill levels weren't great and the referee (Pro Legoete) was poor. His indecisiveness made the players unsure about where they stood.
Western Province will now host the Golden Lions in the final at Newlands this Saturday (17:00 kick-off).
Jaco van Heerden was on duty in the game at Ellis Park, in which the Golden Lions thrashed the Sharks 50-20, while Pro Legoete was the man in charge as Western Province beat the Blue Bulls 31-23 at Newlands.
Kaplan, writing on his website, www.ratetheref.co.za, praised Van Heerden for a "tidy" effort but admitted that Legoete had an indifferent day at the office.
Kaplan wrote: "Jaco van Heerden, who got roundly criticised last week in France, delivered a tidy performance. The players were responsive, and he allowed them to deliver a good spectacle. If I have a criticism, it was the non-awarding of what looked like a clear penalty try for Lions dominance at a sequence of scrums midway through the first half of the fixture. Perhaps inexperience, or perhaps just a poor read on the play, it should not detract from a very good game in his first semi-final from this highly thought of match official.
"Pro Legoete was the referee (at Newlands) in his first semi-final. He deserves credit for his appointment and although he too interspersed some iffy calls with (a) lack of confidence and poor reads, he will be able to look back on a season where he could not have dreamt of the reward he received."
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett also criticised the performance of Legoete.
Speaking in the SuperSport studio after the game, Mallett said: "I think it was a poor game of rugby compared to the first match. The skill levels weren't great and the referee (Pro Legoete) was poor. His indecisiveness made the players unsure about where they stood.
Western Province will now host the Golden Lions in the final at Newlands this Saturday (17:00 kick-off).
