REF JOUBERT FINALLY REVEALS WHY HE RAN
SoUTH African referee Craig Joubert has finally broken his silence over why he ran off the pitch at the end of the controversial World Cup quarter-final between Scotland and Australia.
The official came in for criticism from the likes of Scotland legend Gavin Hastings after he sprinted up the tunnel without shaking hands with the players after wrongly awarding a match-winning penalty to the Wallabies.
In an interview with an English newspaper, Joubert said, in hindsight, he would not have given the decision against the Scots, which saw the Aussies run out 35-34 victors last year.
And his madcap dash from the scene of the crime, which so infuriated Vern Cotter’s team, was because he wanted to avoid a ‘confrontation’.
‘In my head was a desire to avoid any possible unseemly confrontation that would mar what had been a wonderful occasion,’ he said. ‘I had it in my mind that there had been an incident between the official and the England coaches in their match against Australia.
‘I didn’t want any of that to happen, not because I don’t understand the emotions of the moment for players and coaches, their desire for answers to questions, but just because I did not want that to become another possible incident. That was my thinking.’
Joubert revealed that he had made his peace with Scotland head coach Cotter and captain Greig Laidlaw, saying: ‘I had a coffee with Vern and a beer with Greig,’ said Joubert. ‘They were very natural and typical interactions which I enjoyed.’