Self-assured and professional - he is the highest Test-capped South African referee of all time - he speaks of rugby as 'the product'.

"In the course of my career the game has become quicker; the product is more dynamic. Technology has improved the way we adjudicate the game"

The area he highlights as deficient is the ever-troublesome breakdown area.

"There is a tendency for the breakdown to become too attack-oriented. It must remain a contest."

"In recent years we have begun to run the risk of the game becoming too quick. This leads to a lack of structure."

Kaplan has also been party to the experimentation of the Stellenbosch Laws, a set of alterations to the laws of Rugby Union devised by coaching stalwarts such as Rod Macqueen and Ian McIntosh. These changes, which will, if agreed upon by the International Rugby Board (IRB), be introduced in 2008 include allowing hands in the ruck, a five metre offside line at the scrums, as well as the limiting of long-arm penalties to only foul play and offside discretions.

"At the breakdown there needs to be clearer adjudication. There are so many laws governing the breakdown but that it is simply too close to call. The public are left baffled."

Not that Kaplan is against the laws allowing for referee performance. he sees those big calls as being part of the dynamic of sport. Indeed Kaplan revels in this. If rugby is a product, the role of the referee is a determinant in the quality of that product.

"Not only does he need to apply skill and integrity, but his propensity to change the game is in itself a defining element of sport. The referee needs to be professional for he is in the midst of a professional   sport."

Kaplan clearly has no problem being a visible element in rugby and in its sense of occasion.

"In other professional sports like tennis, the official becomes part of the fabric of the action, especially as players are allowed to challenge the referee's calls. And why not in rugby?"

Jonathan Kaplan has been on the Currie Cup refereeing panel since 1993. If rugby is a product, an experience and a visceral and lasting spectacle, then Kaplan is one of its most committed merchants.