Refereeing Career
Kaplan began refereeing in 1984, while still a high school student. He made his first-class debut in 1991 and was appointed to South Africa's national panel of referees in 1993. On 4 May 1996 he made his international debut in a match between Namibia and Zimbabwe in Harare.
He was appointed as a touch judge for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, and as a referee for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, where he took charge of three pool games and the quarter-final between France and Ireland. He was one of the twelve referees appointed to officiate at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, and took charge of four pool games and the semi-final between England and France, becoming the first South African to officiate at three World Cups.
Some of Kaplan's other notable games in charge include the first ever game in the Six Nations Championship, between Italy and Scotland in 2000, the second test between the British and Irish Lions and Australia in 2001 and the third test between the Lions and New Zealand in 2005.
Kaplan was the referee for the 2005 Super 12 final and the 2006 Super 14 final (a game notorious for the dense fog which obscured much of the action from spectators and commentators). In December 2008 he was chosen as one of nine referees on a merit panel who, it was intended, would between them have charge of 75% of 2009 Super 14 matches irrespective of the nationality of the teams involved. In line with this policy, Kaplan was appointed to referee the 2009 Super 14 Final; in previous years he would have been debarred from officiating because of the involvement of a South African team. In late 2009, he was again named on the merit panel for the 2010 Super 14.
In October 2008 he took charge of the final of South Africa's premier domestic competition, the Currie Cup, for the fourth time, and was the referee again for the 2009 final.
Read more about this topic: Jonathan Kaplan (rugby Union)
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