Watson for his final Final

Henning for Division 1 Final

Andre Watson is the man people choose most often for finals, it seems. He has now been appointed to his seventh Currie Cup Final - his 14th - and last - major Final.

Earlier this year Watson retired from international rugby but went on with Super 12 and Currie Cup. Those will now end as well at Securicor Loftus in Pretoria when he referees the Final of the Currie Cup between the Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls.

Watson's appointment to the seventh Currie Cup Final is a South African record, passing the six finals that he and Steve Strydom had refereed.

His fourteen major finals are made up of two World Cup finals, five Super 12 finals and now seven Currie Cup finals.

When this website asked Watson how he felt about the match, he said: "Happy - very, very happy. For a South African it is the highest accolade a referee can have in South Africa."

Watson, a resident of a leafy Benoni suburb, is 46 - a civil engineer by profession who became one of South Africa's first four full-time referees - along with Jonathan Kaplan, Tappe Henning, and the late Carl Spannenberg. After Spannenberg's death by drowning Mark Lawrence became the next full-time referee.

On the line with Watson will be two other full-time referees who have refereed Currie Cup finals - Jonathan Kaplan, who was also at the 2003 World Cup, and Shaun Veldsman, a Test referee who refereed the Currie Cup semi-final in Pretoria on Saturday. Lawrence will be the television match official.

Henning, who refereed the 1995 Currie Cup Final, will referee the First Division Final between Boland Cavaliers and Border Bulldogs in Wellington on Friday.

Watson, Kaplan, Henning and Lawrence are all on the IRB's Merit Panel, placing them in the Top 16 in the world.

It is odd that Kaplan had neither a semi-final nor a final.

Watson refereed his first Currie Cup Final in 1996 when Natal beat Transvaal 33-15 at Ellis park. He then went on to referee the next five finals - in which Western Province beat the Free State, the Blue Bulls beat Western Province, the Lions beat Natal, and Western Province beat Natal. This will be his second Final at Loftus.

There are lots of finals this weekend. The referees are:

The Finals:

Friday, 22 October at Boland Stadium in Wellington:

Under 20 B

Griquas v Mighty Elephants
Referee: Alistair. van Wyk (Natal)
Touch judges: Roderick Barry, Jerome. America (both Western Province)
Assessor: James Apollis

Womens B

Boland vs Free State
Referee: Jenny Bentel (Western Province)
Touch judges: Wendy de Kock, Sandra Edwards (both Western Province)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman

Currie Cup First Division

Boland Cavaliers vs Border Bulldogs
Referee: Tappe Henning (SARFU)
Touch judges: Deon van Blommestein, JC Fortuin (both Western Province)
Assessor: Keith Hendricks
Television match official: James Apollis

Saturday, 23 October at Securicor Loftus

Womens A

Blue Bulls vs Mighty Elephants
Referee: Louis. Mzomba (Western Province)
Touch judges: Marcelle Herselman (Golden Lions), Erica van Niekerk (Pumas)
Assessor: Rudi Mey

Amateur

Natal vs Western Province Club XV
Referee: Phillip Bosch (Eastern Province)
Touch judges: Cobus Wessels (Blue Bulls), Luvuyo Matsha (Golden Lions)
Assessor: Rudi Mey

Under-20

Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions
Referee: Jamiel Panday (Boland)
Touch judges: Johan Steyn, Andries Selemela (both Leopards)
Assessor: Louis Wessels
Television match official: Mark Lawrence

Currie Cup

Blue Bulls vs Free State
Referee: André Watson (SARFU)
Touch judges: Jonathan Kaplan (SARFU), Shaun Veldsman (Boland)
Assessor: Frans Muller
Television match official: Mark Lawrence