Thursday 8 December 2016 09:16, UK
South African referee Craig Joubert has retired from Test rugby to help develop more match officials.
Joubert, who will continue to referee in the sevens world rugby series, will now undertake a new role at World Rugby to identify referees for XVs and sevens.
The 39-year-old, who in 2011 was the youngest man to referee a World Cup final, handled the 2012 Six Nations decider, and a British and Irish Lions Test in Australia the following year.
Despite his experience, he did attract his share of controversy. The French accused him of being biased after the 2011 World Cup final they lost to New Zealand, and World Rugby said he was mistaken to award a last-minute penalty which Australia used to beat Scotland in the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals.
He also apologised to the Crusaders after the 2014 Super Rugby final for penalising Richie McCaw in the last minute and allowing the Waratahs to kick a penalty to win.
"This was not a decision I took lightly, given the obvious lure of possibly refereeing the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand next year as well as the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019," said Joubert who officiated in his 69th and last Test between Fiji and Japan in Vannes, France, last month.
"However, the opportunity to make a difference in other peoples' careers and lives is something which I'm excited about. It really is a dream job."
