Jonathan Kaplan (rugby union)

Jonathan Kaplan

Kaplan officiating a 2009 match
Date of birth	(1966-11-07) November 7, 1966 (age 50)
Place of birth	Durban, South Africa
Rugby union career
Refereeing career Years Competition Apps 1999–2011 1996–2013 Rugby World Cup Test Matches Super Rugby Currie Cup 13 70 107 161

Jonathan Isaac Kaplan (born 7 November 1966 in Durban, South Africa), is a former international rugby union referee who used to hold the record for the most international matches as referee.

He announced his retirement on 26 October 2013 and took charge of the 2013 Currie Cup Final between Western Province and the Sharks as his final domestic league match as referee. His final test match as a referee was on 16 November 2013 when he took charge of the Namibia v Kenya match in the final fixture of the 2013 Namibian Tri-Nations in Windhoek.

Kaplan was born in Durban to Jewish parents, and was educated at Carmel College, Durban, and King David School, Linksfield, Johannesburg. He gained a bachelor of social sciences degree, with majors in economics and psychology, from the University of Cape Town and a postgraduate degree in marketing management from the University of South Africa.

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, and also at the 2011 Rugby World Cup where he refereed Tonga v Canada, Canada v Japan, England v Georgia & Ireland v Italy, he was also an Assistant Referee in the Semi-final between Wales & France. Jonathan become the first South African to officiate at four World Cups, and referee at three.