Charl Durand, a great referee in his active days and a powerful refereeing boss afterwards died on Tuesday 26 May 2009 at the age of 88.

He died at his home in the Gironde, not far from Bordeaux.

He played his club rugby for Saint-Juéry (Tarn) and then was the coach of Albi before turning to refereeing where he was best known. He refereed three Tests - England vs Scotland in 1969, Ireland vs Scotland in 1970 and England vs Scotland in 1971. In France his career was much longer. He refereed the Final of the French Championship in 1950, 1957 and 1968, and the Final of Yves du Manoir Challenge  in 1953 and 1964.

In the 1980s he took over French refereeing, regarded by some as an autocrat. He stayed in charge till 1991 when René Hourquet succeeded him. Hourquet is in the process of handing over the reins to Didier Mene.