Former South Africa Sevens and Western Province speedster Egon Seconds will be the man in charge of the first test between Kenya and Hong Kong in Nairobi on Sunday 20 August 2017. The first South African professional player to transition to Super Rugby officiating, he was assistant referee when Argentina played England in San Juan, Argentina in June and officiated the Simbas 41-22 win over hosts Bulawayo on Saturday 22 July 2017.
Seconds took up the whistle in 2014 after a competitive playing career that saw him debut for Western Province in 2001 when he was 20. He was appointed to the premier panel of South Africa’s foremost match officials in late 2016. He played for Western Province 88 times till 2008 when he went to Griquas for whom he played 23 times. In a five-year Super Rugby career, in days when there were fewer matches, he played 11 times. He played in 2001, 2002 and 2005 for the Blitzboks, including at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 when they won the bronze medal.
He also went on the SA A tour to Argentina, playing against Argentina A and the Argentinian Provinces in 2004. In 2009 he played for a Royal XV against the B&I Lions. That was his last year as a player but not his last year in the game.
Photo Credit : © Tertius Pickard Gallo Images
In a previous interview with S.A Referees, Seconds says, “”There were a couple of reasons why I started refereeing. I spoke to Mark Lawrence a few months before I decided to enrol. He explained to me why it would be good for the game to have ex-players taking up the whistle. I was still reluctant at first, but he left an impression with me. I thought about it, and I wanted to serve the game in some way after playing for so long. And refereeing started making more sense. Also, after playing, that’s the closest to the action I would be able to get. So after a while of contemplating, I called Mark up, and said I am ready to enter this new venture.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
– With additional information from South Africa Referees
