Renown ref drops in at Toti school
During his talk attended by local school pupils, teachers, coaches and members of the public Kaplan touched on his career highlights
Former international rugby referee, Jonathan Kaplan hosted a talk at Amanzimtoti High School on Thursday, 18 September.
Kaplan, who holds the record for refereeing the most international rugby matches (70 tests) has joined SEARTEC, a company that does office automation as a brand ambassador. “Part of our drive is to embrace business and rugby,” said Kaplan.
In June together with SEARTEC, Kaplan travelled to Cape Town to talk at 15 schools. Brand advocate at SEARTEC Andre Coetzer is excited that Kaplan has joined the team. “We hope to build longstanding relationships with schools. I think it’s fantastic that Jonathan has joined us. It’s his way of giving back,” said Coetzer.
During his talk attended by local school pupils, teachers, coaches and members of the public Kaplan touched on his career highlights, which were refereeing six Currie Cup finals and his 70 test match record. His advice to the audience was that they need to have a dream and a vision of what they want to do. “I was lucky to have the longest career, I found something I was good at,” said Kaplan.
Kaplan’s last match as referee was last year’s Currie Cup final. “It was the perfect ending to my career. It was my people playing each other,” said Kaplan.
The 46-year-old is part of UCT’s Ikey Tigers coaching staff. He also still referees school rugby. “I enjoy interacting with the next generation, I find it rewarding. I have a wealth of information, I would be silly not to share it,” said Kaplan.
