There were changes to the committee as well, one a first for Western Province with the election of Jenny Bentel to the committee. She was the first woman to join the Western Province Society and the first woman to become a Test referee.

Present at the meeting was Tinkie Heyns, a former vice-chairman and a life member of both the Union and the Society. He first attended an AGM in 1946 when Phil Mostert was the chairman, and has not missed one since.

Immelman becomes the third chairman of the Society since unification in 1992. The first was Paul Dobson, the second Douglas Holwill who was no longer eligible as he holds the post of deputy chairman of South African Referees. He completed eight years as chairman of the Western Province Society.

There were three nominees for the position of chairman - James Apollis, the long-serving vice-chairman, Dan de Villiers, the former Currie Cup referee and Immelman, a former provincial referee who has been making headway as an assessor.

In the first round Apollis received 40 votes, De Villiers 31 and Immelman 42. In the second ballot Immelman polled 53 votes to the 48 of De Villiers.

There was then an election for the post of vice-chairman where Arthur Southgate, the principal of Table View High School, opposed Apollis. Southgate won that election by 62 votes to 40.

The Western Province Society's executive has five additional members. The votes polled were Apollis 49, De Villiers 80, Owen Kiewietz 60, Ashley Mackay 69, Johan Willemse 14, Thuso Mngqibisa 81, Jenny Bentel 51, Eddie Douglas 38 and Hendrik Greyvenstein 39. Those elected were De Villiers, Kiewietz, Mackay, Mngqibisa and Bentel. Mackay and Jenny Bentel are new to the committee.

This meant that Apollis had dropped out altogether. Dirk Jurgens, a committee member, had made himself unavailable to help his son with a new business. Holwill, Apollis and Jurgens were the last three remaining members of the 20-man committee which forged unity in the Western Province Society in 1992.

Also elected was the assessment committee where the only change was the election of Johan Pieterse to replace Immelman.

The Assessors Committee is: Alan Becker, Toby Basson, Owen Kiewietz, Thuso Mngqibisa, Johan Willemse, Wollie Wolmarans and Johan Pieterse.

The outgoing chairman paid tribute to several members, including Jonathan Kaplan, who had refereed a semi-final at the World Cup, James Apollis and Dirk Jurgens for their work for the Society, Joey Salmans for his award as South Africa's Most Promising Referee of the Year, Ben Theron, the referees manager, especially for the successful Black Tie Dinner and Golf Day, those who had received awards and those who had worked hard to run the Society.

James Apollis paid tribute to Douglas Holwill.