Romain Poite will take charge of the British and Irish Lions’ crucial third and final Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
The 41-year-old refereed his first RBS 6 Nations match in 2010 and his first World Cup match in 2011 and has since become renowned for his tough stance on scrummaging, which could prove vital to the outcome of the Eden Park decider.
Here, we take a look at a selection of key matches officiated by Poite.
Poite’s knowledge of scrummaging was called upon in this tasty match-up as Saints dominated the scrum in the first-half, which resulted in several penalties and a 22-6 half-time lead. However, the Irish side were able to put their deficiencies at the scrum aside in the second period and ran in three unanswered tries.
SIN BIN! Australia’s Ben Alexander is sent from the field for 10 mins after repeated scrum infringements. Another Lions penalty. #AUSvLIO
— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) July 6, 2013
Poite was praised for sending Wallabies prop Ben Alexander to the sin-bin late in the first-half for collapsing a scrum. The score stood at 16-3 to the Lions when Alexander received his yellow card and despite scoring a converted try towards the end of the first-half, the hosts were never able to overcome the deficit.
In other news, IRB have issued a statement saying Romain Poite was wrong to issue first yellow card to South Africa’s Bismarck du Plessis
— Rugby World (@Rugbyworldmag) September 15, 2013
The French referee wrongly sent Bismarck du Plessis to the sin-bin mid-way through the first-half and then gave the hooker his marching orders early in the second period with a second yellow for a stray elbow. Du Plessis’ red card was later overturned, but in Poite’s defence he did consult the television match official over his first decision.
The Frenchman oversaw England’s final match of the 2015 World Cup campaign when they crashed to defeat at Twickenham. He sent Owen Farrell to the sin-bin late on for a mistimed tackle. The decision appeared slightly harsh but ultimately it had no real bearing on the result.
That Grenoble win was the game in which and after which Silvère Tian lost the plot with Romain Poite: https://t.co/FwqESowOEg
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) April 3, 2016
With the scores tied at 20-20 and just 10 minutes left on the clock, Poite yellow-carded Silvere Tian for a rucking offence, sending the player into a rage. The Ivory Coast-born full-back’s behaviour prompted the Frenchman to produce a red card, which only angered the player further. Poite then had to be escorted from the field as Tian waited for him in the tunnel after the final whistle. The player later received a 14-month ban for his behaviour.
The Frenchman was praised for his handling of this Six Nations encounter, as the Italian side employed the controversial gameplan of not forming rucks, which meant the offside rule became irrelevant. When England skipper Dylan Hartley approached Poite for an explanation of the Azzurri’s tactics, he famously replied: “Sorry, Dylan, I am a referee, not a coach.”
