Big Day for Raynal
A Catalan he will be driving to Cataluña, a part of Spain that has doubts about its Spanishness. It's an hour's drive, the shortest trip he has had to make to referee this year. And to think that he nearly did not referee at all this year.
It is common to have a player give up playing to become a referee because of injury. But Raynal is a referee who was so injured refereeing that at one stage he thought he would never referee again. But we are jumping the gun.
Mathieu Raynal was born in Perpignan near the Mediterranean Sea and the Spanish border on 9 August 1981. That means he is in southwest France and that means he is in rugby country and he played for the Perpignan club whose colours are red (for blood) and gold, Catalan colours. While he was playing for the University of Perpignan's 1st XV in 2000 he joined the local referees' society, Pays Catalan.
The reason for refereeing? "I had a team-mate who was a player (a hooker). We studied in the same university and we played for the same club and there was a lot of travelling, approximately 100km every day for training but I wanted to focus on my studies and I decided to start refereeing as I wanted to stay in the rugby environment and be part of the sport."
The young referee got ahead. "I progressed to Federal Divisions which led me to achieving my goals and being promoted to Federal Division 2 and 1. Then I was promoted to the Pro D2, the second division of professional rugby in France, and then got to the top league in France which is the top 14 panel. My first game in the professional division was in 2006 when I refereed Grenoble vs Toulon. Presently I am refereeing in the Top 14 and the European Cup."
He has also refereed six Tests, the first Netherlands vs Malta in the European Nations Cup, the latest South Africa vs Ireland at Newlands. And he has refereed at two Under-20 World Championships – in 2011 in Italy and 2012 in South Africa.
Then came 2013 and a disaster that threatened to end his refereeing career.
Raynal was refereeing a Top 14 match between Montpellier and Racing-Métor in Montpellier. In the second half Julien Tomas, the Montpellier scrumhalf, broke suddenly with Raynal between Frans van der Merwe and Fabrice Estebanez. Van der Merwe tackled Tomas and in doing so swung him round into Raynal's legs. Raynal fell to the ground with a cry of anguish. The match stopped and medics came on. The referee was taken off on a stretcher and on to hospital. Raynal had suffered breaks to his right tibia and fibula, a broken collarbone and a sprained left ankle.
In 2014 he battled for strength and fitness and his first match back was in February 2015 – a Top 14 match back in Montpellier. Since then he has gone from strength to strength.
Asked about the highlights in his career, Raynal, who speaks French, Catalan and English said: "After my injury in 2013, I appreciate every moment on a pitch for its own. Without the strong probability of failure, achievement has no flavour and so now every game is an highlight."
That is a wonderful consideration.
Before he came to Newlands for the Test, Didier Mene, once a top referee now in charge of French referees, told him that he would be refereeing the Final. For that reason he went back to France on the Monday after the Test to spend quiet time preparing for the match. What did he do during that time?
"As every game. I changed nothing to my preparation. I don't read the press, I don't answer the journalists and I focus only on the game. I eat healthily, hydrate well, train and rest. Nothing more and nothing less than the usual."
On Thursday he will drive down to Barcelona. His son is too young to come and so his wife will stay at home with him, but his father will be at the match. "And the rest of the family will be in Barcelona or in front of the TV. They are proud of this appointment even if I always say an appointment is just 10% of the job. Now my responsibility is to do it well."
Asked what his hopes are for the match, Raynal said: "That nobody knows who the referee of the game was."
Many referees around the world will know who the referee is and be hoping that the match and his performance fulfil his every hope.
