Jaco Peyper started refereeing 2001 at age 20 and made his first-class debut in 2007. His career pathway started at Currie Cup and he progressed through Sevens Rugby and World Rugby U20s, to Super Rugby and on to Test level appointments. He is the longest-serving referee on the Super Rugby refereeing team and has 82 matches behind him including the 2017 final between the Lions and Crusaders. He has become one of the senior test referees in world rugby having refereed 46 Test matches and in 2017 refereed the first test between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions. In 2019 during he passed the 100 match milestone - only the fourth referee to have done so and refereed the final between Crusaders and Jaguares. He refereed at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and is another to have been awarded a match in the 2020 Six Nations [England v Ireland].