Kiwi Ben O'Keeffe to referee Springboks v France in blockbuster World Cup QF

New Zealand's Ben O'Keeffe will referee Sunday's blockbuster Rugby World Cup quarter-final between the Springboks and France in Paris. 

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South Africans had been waiting anxiously to see who they would get for the game. Paul Williams, James Doleman will serve as the assistant referees, while Brendon Pickerill is the TMO. 

O'Keeffe refereed the Springboks' second Test against the British & Irish Lions back in 2021, which the Boks won. That followed the controversy surrounding Australian referee Nic Berry and Rassie Erasmus after the first Test. 

In the weekend's other crunch quarter-final on Saturday between the All Blacks and Ireland, England's Wayne Barnes will take charge, while South Africa's Jaco Peyper has been given the responsibility of blowing the Wales v Argentina clash. 

Frenchman Mathieu Raynal, meanwhile, will referee the England v Fiji match. 

World Cup QFs referees and assistants:

Saturday:

Wales v Argentina

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Andrea Piardi

TMO: Marius Jonker

Ireland v All Blacks 

Referee: Wayne Barnes

Assistant referees: Matthew Carley, Christhophe Ridley

TMO: Tom Foley

Sunday:

England v Fiji

Referee: Mathieu Raynal

Assistant referees: Nic Berry, Pierre Brousset

TMO: Ben Whitehouse

South Africa v France

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe

Assistant referees: Paul Williams, James Doleman

TMO: Brendon Pickerill

Locked in ??Congratulations to our quarter-final referees for #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/uIocfVOoTU