Jonathan Kaplan and Craig Joubert are two of the top referees in the world, both on the IRB's merit panel and appointed to top matches. Here Jonathan asks questions - some of a personal nature of Craig.

Jonathan Kaplan: What is your family set up?

Craig Joubert: I've been married for six years with first lightie due at the end of May. We're hoping it gets my wife's nose!

Jonathan's comment: Well that's pretty obvious, tjom!

Jonathan Kaplan: What's you educational background?

Craig Joubert: Maritzburg College and then B.Com (Honours) University of Natal. Went to school with okes like Butch James and Kevin Pietersen and then was a boarder master there when lighties like Peter Grant and Matt Kemp were in second form.

Jonathan's comment: This dude is such a names dropper!

Jonathan Kaplan: How you got involved in refereeing?

Craig Joubert: My late dad was a provincial referee and encouraged me to come down to a few law meetings to understand the way the game was changing in the early nineties. I met up with a few okes like Craig Strachan and Andrew Nicholson who have gone on to become some of my best mates who were also young referees and we had a lot of fun learning the trade and touring Newcastle, Kokstad, etc.

Jonathan Kaplan: Who were your role models growing up... referees, that is?

Craig Joubert: My late dad had a very special manner with people and he taught me that the most important aspect to successful refereeing is man management.

Jonathan Kaplan: What for you is the toughest aspect of the game to referee?

Craig Joubert: The scrum. Clearly I never played in the front row and I'm on a constant learning process as to the dark underworld of front row play.

Jonathan Kaplan: What are your favourite games?

Craig Joubert: World Cup Sevens Final between New Zealand and Fiji in Hong Kong in 2005. A group of us refereed on the Sevens circuit for two years, travelling to all the tournaments and having a lot of fun. Okes like Barnsey [Wayne Barnes of England] always ensured that wherever we were, Dubai, George, New Zealand, Singapore, Bordeaux, London and even Las Vegas were special memories and I loved the abbreviated form of the game. New Zealand vs Fiji was always a special game of Sevens and it was a great way to bring the curtain down on what had been a very enjoyable Sevens career for me.

Jonathan Kaplan: State of the nation - what is your first-class record?

Craig Joubert: 105 first-class fixtures, 12 Test matches, 25 Super games.

Jonathan Kaplan: Why is it that such a young fit fellah has so many cramps and has to sit down in a Super 14 match to take a breather?

Craig Joubert: Elite athletes like us sometimes find that excess muscle fibres in our calves causes them to cramp. It's probably just a symptom of the muscle sheath being stretched beyond its limits by an unusually large calf muscle.

Jonathan's comment: Harden up, dork. If it cramps now, you are gonna be permanently disabled by the time your 40th comes along!

Jonathan Kaplan: What are your hobbies outside of rugby?

Craig Joubert: I love a game of golf and play off a seven handicap. Highlights include two holes in one. And since the World Cup in France where we played every train trip and most nights in Paris, I have become addicted to poker. My favourite memories include hustling the likes of Kaplan and Bray. You've gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

Jonathan's comment: Has never beaten the champ, but it never harms to pump up the old self-esteem does it?

Jonathan Kaplan: What Test match do you aspire to referee

Craig Joubert: I always knew that a Bledisloe Cup would be special and it was everything I hoped for when I did Australia vs New Zealand in Sydney last year. But for the history, and the anthems, I harbour a strong desire to referee Scotland vs England at Murrayfield. The "Flower of Scotland" at Murrayfield against the old foe must be special.

Jonathan Kaplan: What is your motto for your approach to the game?

Craig Joubert: My philosophy is that the referee is a facilitator. He merely facilitates that the game is played within the boundaries of the law. The players are the entertainers and they should be allowed to entertain.

Jonathan Kaplan: Neutral vs merit referees?

Craig Joubert: Merit.

Jonathan Kaplan: Currie cup vs Super 14?

Craig Joubert: Currie Cup. I grew up in the late eighties and early nineties where the Currie Cup final was the single biggest day on the South African Rugby Calendar. The Currie Cup has lost none of that mystique for me. To referee a Currie Cup Final would be my ultimate game.

Jonathan Kaplan: Round of golf or a big fat juicy steak with tsippies?

Craig Joubert: Tough one - I'm quite partial to a rare lump of meat, but provided I'm hitting the ball well - round of golf, good course.

Jonathan Kaplan: Favourite cities to visit?

Craig Joubert: Brisbane and  Vegas. Got lots of mates in Brisbane having been based there for three months in 2007. Love the golf courses down the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast is a special stretch of beachfront. Sydney is another good city to visit. Our base in Coogee is a favourite and I enjoy London where I always try to ensure that I get out to the West End to catch a show.

Jonathan Kaplan: Whose nose has greater volume - yours or Mark Lawrence's?

Craig Joubert: Greatest Volume - Mork "Is there any reason why I shouldn't invest with Marriot" Lawrence?

Most unusual shape - Jonathan Kaplan , although I have a mate, Fabrice Ruscoe, who has a kink in his beak that rivals yours!

Best of both - Me.

Jonathan Kaplan: Life after rugby?

Craig Joubert: I came from a Corporate banking background  and so I may re enter the corporate rat race although the idea of getting back behind a desk 8 - 5 doesn't really turn me on.

Jonathan Kaplan: How could rugby be improved?

Craig Joubert: I recently went to a talk by Tim Noakes and his arguments surrounding rest and recovery necessary by modern day rugby players is irrefutable. A global rugby season which caters for the necessary R&R across all countries and hemispheres would greatly improve the quality and lengthen the careers of professional rugby players.

Jonathan Kaplan: What do you most respect/admire in your fellow man?

Craig Joubert: A sense of humour.

Jonathan Kaplan: Is it true that you used to pose a lot in front of the mirror in your youth?

Jonathan's comment: This question did not get an answer, so either he still thinks he is young, and therefore is still posing; or his sister is going to get a hiding for giving out family secrets.