But if that was his plan then it went badly off the rails at Murrayfield yesterday as the South African's heavy-handed and often mystifying stewardship of Scotland's RBS 6 Nations match against Wales obliterated all possibility of entertainment.
Joubert's attempts to bring order to the scrum backfired even more spectacularly than his career change. He whistled Scotland off the park at the set-piece, penalising them time and again for early engagement. As a consequence, the Scots were obliged to exercise extreme caution every time the packs came together.
Joubert could hardly have done a better job had he nipped round the back and added his weight to the Welsh shove. Which is not to say Wales were undeserving winners; rather, Joubert cast a cloud over the achievement and left a sour taste in the mouths of many in the 67,144 crowd.
Referees are often unfairly pilloried after games in which neither side seemed to want to play rugby, but this was not one of those. The bewildered expressions on the faces of both sets of players told the story.
So, too, did some of the numbers the game threw up. There were 18 penalty attempts at goal, an all-time Test record. The 13 penalties landed was a championship record. The fact Leigh Halfpenny, the Wales kicker, is glacially slow in the way he goes about his business only added to the crowd's frustration. We are long past the point when the sport's rulers should have acted to hurry kickers along.
But credit must be given where it is due. Overall, Wales were sharper on the ball, more clinical in their execution of basic skills. They had the upper hand at the breakdown, where Sam Warburton was immense.
When Justin Tipuric replaced Ryan Jones early in the second half, Wales then had two world class opensides on the pitch. Their presence robbed Scotland of momentum and Rob Howley's side may yet stick a very large spanner in England's Grand Slam works in Cardiff next weekend.
And Scotland? Too patchy by far. Duncan Weir had a decent first start and Sean Lamont had one of his best games for a long time, but mostly the side played in fits and starts.
Denied any sort of set-piece platform, they compounded their problems by failing to build momentum through the phases. The game was 74 minutes old before the Scots put in a decent recycling sequence anywhere near the Welsh line and even those efforts came to nought.
The first half was a desperately close affair, ending with Wales leading by a single point, 13-12. However, it took a penalty by Halfpenny, with the last kick of the period, to bring up that scoreline and nobody would have called it a travesty had Scotland had their noses in front instead.
Wales had more clear opportunities and Scotland rode their luck a little as Halfpenny struck two penalty attempts wide and smacked another against a post. Then again, it was rattling the upright that set up the only try of the game for Richard Hibbard, so Wales had no reason to curse their misfortune with that one. The score came in the 22nd minute. Richie Gray, who would be carried off soon afterwards with what was initially reported as a hamstring injury, had given away a silly penalty for gathering the ball in front of a Weir kick and he, at least, must have been relieved when Halfpenny hit the post.
However, Tim Visser's clearance only set up George North for a powerful counter, and Hibbard barrelled over after a series of rucks near the line. Scotland had led 6-3 just prior to the try, with Greig Laidlaw collecting a brace of early penalties to one by Halfpenny. Laidlaw closed the gap with a third strike just before the half-hour mark then edged Scotland in front with his fourth, in the 37th minute.
Two minutes later, however, Joubert spotted Jim Hamilton offside at a ruck – an offence that was probably visible from space as well – and Halfpenny punished Scotland by giving Wales a half-time advantage.
Weir had contributed one sizzling kick-and-chase, in the 34th minute, but otherwise Scotland had been largely anonymous in attack. Wales, with Warburton at the heart of everything, were far more convincing in continuity play, although Scotland did perform heroically in defence at times.
However, the real defensive plaudits in this championship all belong to Wales. They have not conceded a try in their last three games, and Scotland rarely looked likely to end that proud record.
The second half unfolded to the same wearisome rhythm of the first, with the tempo – if that's the word – set by the boots of Halfpenny and Laidlaw. The the former stretched the Welsh lead in the 46th minute, the Scottish kicker reeled it back in three minutes later, and the frustrations of the crowd continued to grow.
Four Halfpenny penalties between the 55th and 71st minutes, to one by Laidlaw in the 60th, opened up a gap that would never be closed.
And so the match ground its way to a muted conclusion, the most positive move by Joubert coming just after the 80-minute mark when he brought the whole wretched affair to an end. Maybe he'll try being a parking warden instead.
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