Rasta the ref has come a long way in a short time
HE may be diminutive in stature but referee Rasta Rasivhenge has taken on an outsized responsibility.
“I would like to change people’s perceptions of referees,” he said of a discipline that draws disdain from living-room couches but perhaps more stingingly, the grandstands.
“People need to understand referees are human and have only two eyes,” added the 26-year-old former Jeppe High housemaster, who has shot up through the ranks.
He has been fast-tracked but with reason. Last year in his debut Currie Cup season he won a referee of the month award, while his success on the sevens circuit culminated in him being given the World Cup final in Moscow a fortnight ago.
The incident that set him on this path also involved him being, in a sense, the man in the middle.
“In 2007 one of my mates had an altercation with the referee in an under-19 match. I went to the ref after the game and told him my friend was being an idiot.
‘‘We got chatting and he told me about refereeing and invited me to have fitness tests. I decided to give it a shot. I guess I had the right characteristics and I knew the game to a certain extent. I played
I will try to get to the next Olympics for the sevens tournament
scrumhalf and loved touch rugby.
‘‘Things went well quickly for me. It normally takes seven to 10 years to get to where I am. I was spotted at a young age but I’ve had weekends when I reffed five, six games to catch up in terms of my experience. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.”
He is slightly torn between building on his success on the sevens circuit and extending his range in the 15-man code.
“I will try to get to the next Olympics for the sevens tournament. That’s a long-term goal. In the short-term I would like to get selected onto the next sevens series.
“I want to reset my goals in the 15man game as well. I want to go the test route. I think you can do both but it depends on how your body copes with the workload and how you can reshuffle philosophies.”
Rasivhenge was born in Kempton Park but his parents’ roots are in Venda. Even they call him by his nickname and not Fhatuwami, the name that appears in his passport.
“I used to have dreadlocks, but the maintenance became too much. Then I started reffing and it’s about image as well, otherwise people will think refereeing is for the weed guys,” he said with his characteristic fill-the-room laughter.
“I’m only now starting to find myself. How I deal with situations, people and criticism makes you think of who you are.
“People will always judge you. I take it on the chin. You have to know who to listen to because everyone out there is a ref. The referee’s perspective and that of the fans are two different things. They want entertainment but referees strive for accuracy and consistency.”