the essential
Designated on the whistle for the match of the fourth and final day of the Champions Cup between Stade Toulousain and the Leicester Tigers, this Sunday at Ernest-Wallon (4:15 p.m.), the referee of the match has a notable past.
Ben Whitehouse knows Stade Toulousain well. The Welsh referee was on the whistle on November 15, 2019 during a Champions Cup match between Gloucester and the “red and black” team. From now on, it is in the Pink City that the official will meet the title holders. “I'm looking forward to this weekend. A trip to Stade Ernest Wallon. A great place for rugby!” he wrote on his LinkedIn profile this week.
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The 34-year-old referee is therefore enjoying this experience which is being offered to him, having recovered after being affected by serious health problems a few years ago. Diagnosed in 2014 with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract, the former police officer (who also holds the rank of sergeant, but ultimately focused on refereeing) then developed sepsis, three years later.
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“Such an unpredictable patient”
“The problem with Crohn's disease is that you don't know what lies ahead. You can control it as best you can, but it's such an unpredictable disease and you have it for life. “There is still no cure for this disease” confided the Welshman in an interview given to RugbyPass in early 2024. He specifies in particular that a surgical intervention had to be scheduled urgently, following blood tests which revealed that an ulcer “had become infected and had perforated the intestine”.
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“I went in, had some blood tests done and suddenly a flood of doctors rushed into my room,” Whitehouse told the specialist media. Although he still bears the scars of this operation (“a big scar from the bottom of my chest to my waist”), Ben Whitehouse assured that the latter was crucial: “I really owe my life to my surgeon Mark Davies .He not only saved my life, but he also saved my career.” Otherwise he would not have been able to participate in two World Cups as an assistant referee, let alone discover Ernest-Wallon this Sunday.
