Frenchman in the middle is whistling the hard way

Romain Poite takes charge of his first Heineken Cup final this evening but, as Ian Moriarty finds out, he has not been without controversy.

IT’S one of the great sporting mysteries of our time. Just why would anyone want to be a referee? After 16 years of professionalism, rugby is faster and more complicated than any time in its history, and its match officials under more scrutiny than ever.

As one of a handful of young, professional French referees, Romain Poite is riding high. Alongside Jérôme Garces, Poite has been selected on the FFR’s World Cup referee roster although there won’t be many teams looking forward to the Frenchman’s dictatorial style come September.