“I prefer to take care of my exit rather than having one too many seasons. » Aged 43, Mathieu Raynal will end his career as a professional referee at the end of this season. The Catalan will officiate in the Top 14 until June and will bow out in a fiftieth and final international test match, in July.
“I have been refereeing at the professional level since 2006, I am not far from 350 high-level matches. The question of what to do next arises now, and at 43 years old, I don’t have many options: either I stop at the top and decide on my exit, or I fight again, at the risk of declining and the others who push me towards the exit, he explains. I’m lucky to have gained the trust and respect of players and staff around the world, it’s a wealth that I don’t want to lose by spending one season too long. »
Last representative of a golden generation
Member of the World Rugby panel since 2012, elected best referee in the Top 14 three times (2013, 2022, 2023), Mathieu Raynal has participated in three World Cups (2015, 2019, 2023). During the last one, in France, he officiated the England – Fiji quarter-final, his eighth match in this competition as central referee. Raynal, who seriously injured his leg during contact with a Montpellier player in 2013, also officiated twice in the Top 14 final (2016 and 2021) and during the third, decisive test of the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2021.
“To continue would be to start again on a 4-year cycle, until the 2027 World Cup,” he continues. I will be 46 years old. Today I am defending a position among the five best referees in the world, and it is very hard to be 100% all the time. Today, I can make the effort. But will this still be the case in a year, or in four years? »
Mathieu Raynal was the last representative of a golden generation of French refereeing, which also included Jérôme Garcès, Pascal Gaüzère and Romain Poite, all of whom retired before him. He leaves a certain void behind him, since only one other Frenchman officiates at the highest level as a field referee: Pierre Brousset, who should have officiated his first match of the Tournament this winter, between Ireland and Italy, but had to give up due to injury.
