Referees for the last two S14 rounds

[AndyS]

Round 13

Friday 9 May
Hurricanes vs Western Force in Wellington
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Gareth Williamson (New Zealand)
Assessor: Alan Riley (New Zealand)

Bulls vs Brumbies in Pretoria
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Gabriel Pappas (South Africa)

Saturday 10 May
Highlanders vs Blues in Dunedin
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand), Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Television match official: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
Assessor: Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

Reds vs Crusaders in Brisbane
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Petri Bosch (South Africa), Shaun Moore (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)

Sharks vs Cheetahs in Durban
Referee: Willie Roos (South Africa)
Assistant referees: JC Fortuin (South Africa), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Assessor: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Neville Heilbron (South Africa)

Lions vs Chiefs in Johannesburg
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Brett Bowden (Australia), Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Albert Mocke (South Africa)

Stormers vs Waratahs at Newlands
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Brent Murray (New Zealand), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Kat Swanepoel (South Africa)

Round 14

Friday 16 May
Blues vs Hurricanes in Auckland
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Jonathon White (New Zealand), Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Assessor: Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

Western Force vs Brumbies in Perth
Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)/Nathan Pearce (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Australia), Grant MacNeill (Australia)
Television match official: Geoff Acton (Australia)
Assessor: Scott Young (Australia)

Saturday 17 May
Crusaders vs Highlanders in Christchurch
Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand), Josh Noonan (New Zealand)
Television match official: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
Assessor: Kim Eichmann (New Zealand)

Reds vs Waratahs in Brisbane
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Damian Mitchelmore (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia)

Lions vs Stormers in Johannesburg
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Kat Swanepoel (South Africa)

Cheetahs vs Bulls in Bloemfontein
Referee: Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Willie Roos (South Africa), Joey Salmans (South Africa)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Neville Heilbron (South Africa)

Sharks vs Chiefs in Durban
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Brett Bowden (Australia), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Albert Mocke (South Africa)

[oxleymoron]

Jonathon Kraplan and Geoff No-Acton - Just as well we aren't expected to get a finals berth with these two over consecutive weeks.

[travelling_gerry]

I got a horrible feeling when I read that too Ox....

But the vBookie didnt

[GIGS20]

so much for Ox's vaunted plan!

[Burgs]

With Kaplan and Jonker we are certainly rooted in Wellington for sure now

[joblot]

Jonathon Kraplan & Marius Wonker, what a bloody combination. We will be playing against 17 men.

[Elf1]

Ah well it was good while it lasted, these two will kill that feeling right off.

[pieter blackie]

Relax guys I bet that the Hurricanes feel the same about those 2 idiots

[Burgs]

Can I have some odds there please Gerry or Petals

[travelling_gerry]

Already in the TAB bar Burgs.

[laura]

I think the choice of ref's is a bit bogus, being only from South African and New Zealand....we are playing a New Zealand team

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Shouldnt that ejiot Kaplan, be doing the the Tahs gig?

[Ecky]

Shouldnt that ejiot Kaplan, be doing the the Tahs gig?

He can't do the Tahs gig as they are playing a Saffa team, so it has to be a Kiwi ref - or one from somewhere else in the world

Note the final week is almost all teams from the same country playing each other, meaning refs from the same country can have the gig...

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Ecky, how do you rate your man Jonathan?

[Ecky]

Ecky, how do you rate your man Jonathan?

My man Jonathan? I met him once but I don't think that qualifies him as "my man"...

In my opinion he's a very good ref. Not as good as he was a couple of years ago, when I would have ranked him #1 or #2 in the world. I understand, from unnamed sauces (different sauces than have previously been unnamed), that he's not well liked by other Saffa refs as he is of the Jewish faith. So, when he has two Saffas as AR's, he may not get the assistance he might get from other nationalities as AR's.

In case you wanted to know this as well, there are two refs whose manner/style I really like; Lyndon Bray from NZ and Mark Lawrence from SA. I am not saying they are the best refs (although I'd have thought Lyndon would be up there), but their relaxed (but firm) manner on the park really impresses me.