Former Test referee Jaco Peyper has revealed that he often felt pressured to officiate matches that delivered “a certain product”.

Peyper says stakeholders and tournament organisers often drove that agenda rather than simply having referees applying the laws.

The South African referee, who retired in 2023 due to injury, officiated at the highest level of the game, including Super Rugby, the Six Nations, the Rugby Championship and the World Cup.

Speaking on the Rassie+: The Shape of the Game podcast, Peyper reflected on the growing focus on metrics such as ball-in-play time, and how that influenced refereeing expectations during his career.

Peyper admitted that learning to block out external pressure was one of his biggest challenges.

“I got it wrong so many times. When we started competitions, say Super Rugby or whatever tournament, there’s this pressure from the outside to have an entertaining tournament or to deliver a certain product,” he said.

“I remember we called it ‘high octane’, this is early 2010, 2012, whatever it was in Super Rugby. So then a referee feels the pressure to make the tournament like that instead of just applying the laws.”

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According to Peyper, that mindset can distract officials from their primary responsibilities.

“Instead of just keeping it safe, keep it fair, and apply the law the same to both teams. Yes, little things like we were really strict on the tackler that really assisted the game, get tacklers out of there that cleaned up the contest, but it’s not the referee’s job to make the game flow. It’s the player’s job.”

Peyper stressed that safety and fairness must always come first.

“It’s the referee’s job to make sure it’s safe first, and then even-handed and then if it’s all going so well, then the referee can look at contributing,” he said.

“Often, I felt the pressure of trying to either open up or break the game open if it’s a stalemate.”

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