SANZAR names Super 14 referees

[travelling_gerry]

SANZAR names Super 14 referees


Article Published: Wednesday 21 January 2009
Edited by: Rugbyweek.com

SANZAR has named the match officials for the opening four rounds of the Super 14 rugby competition, which kicks off on February 13.

Australian Matt Goddard will take charge of the opening match between the Highlanders and ACT Brumbies in Dunedin while Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand will whistle the meeting between the Western Force and the Blues in Perth on the same evening.

Craig Joubert of South Africa is in charge of a local derby when he handles the match between the Lions and the Cheetahs in Johannesburg to complete the last of the opening day fixtures.

The appointments are the first to be made following SANZAR's ground-breaking decision in November to establish a panel founded on merit before nationality.

Referees are no longer prevented from refereeing their countrymen in opposition to another nation. The move was made to ensure that whenever possible, the best players would be refereed by the best officials.

There are four instances in the opening round of matches where the principle of ability has over-ridden merit. "We are very excited about this new initiative," said Andre Watson, SANZAR's manager of referees.

"The coaches and players have asked to be refereed by the best and that is what we are giving them."

The referees are drawn from an initial panel of nine - which will be reviewed during the season - although Test duties, injuries and other factors may see a reserve panel being drawn on.

The high demand for SANZAR referees for the Six Nations impacts on the availability of the panel with southern hemisphere officials taking charge of seven of the 15 Six Nations matches.

That opens the way in round two for referees from the shadow and reserve panels to press their case for elevation. Paul Marks and Ian Smith - both of Australia - have appointments in New Zealand in round two.

Merit Panel (alphabetical order):
Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Matt Goddard (Australia), Marius Jonker (South Africa), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Mark Lawrence (South Africa), James Leckie (Australia), Steve Walsh (New Zealand)*.


Shadow Panel (alphabetical order):

Paul Marks (Australia), Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Ian Smith (Australia).

Reserve Bench (alphabetical order):

Phillip Bosch (South Africa), Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Nathan Pearce (Australia).

*Note: Steve Walsh was not considered for selection at this point for the first four weeks of Super 14 due to a personal employment matter.

Match appointments for week 1
Date Friday 13 Feb

Match #1
Match - Highlanders v Brumbies
Venue - Dunedin
Time pm - 19.35
Referee - M Goddard (Aus)
Ass Ref. - 1 V Munro (NZ)
Ass Ref. - 2 K Brown(NZ)
TMO - S McDermot (NZ)
Performance Reviewer - G Wahlstrom

Match #2
Match -Western Force v Blues
Venue -Perth
Time pm -19.45
Referee -B Lawrence (NZ)
Ass Ref. 1 -N Pearce (Aus)
Ass Ref. 2 -J Pritchard (Aus)
TMO -G Ayoub (Aus)
Performance Reviewer -W Erickson

Match #3
Match - Lions v Cheetahs
Venue - Johannesburg
Time pm - 19.10
Referee - C Joubert (SA)
Ass Ref. 1 -P Bosch (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 -J Salmans (SA)
TMO -J Meuwesen (SA)
Performance Reviewer -A Schoonwinkel

Saturday 14 Feb
Match #4
Match - Crusaders v Chiefs
Venue - Christchurch
Time pm -17.30
Referee -C Pollock (NZ)
Ass Ref. 1 -V Munro (NZ)
Ass Ref. 2 -K McBride(NZ)
TMO - S McDermot (NZ)
Performance Reviewer -G Wahlstrom

Match #5
Match -Hurricanes v Waratahs
Venue -Wellington
Time pm -19.35
Referee -S Dickinson (Aus)
Ass Ref. 1 - K Brown (NZ)
Ass Ref. 2 -G Newman (Aus)
TMO - B Skeen (NZ)
Performance Reviewer - G Cooper

Match #6
Match -Stormers v Sharks
Venue - Cape Town
Time pm -17.00
Referee - M Lawrence (SA)
Ass Ref. 1 - P Legoete (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 - C Wessels (SA)
TMO - S Veldsman/ JC Fortuin (Tr.) (SA)
Performance Reviewer - W Erickson

Match #7
Match - Bulls v Reds
Venue - Pretoria
Time pm - 19.10
Referee - M Jonker (SA)
Ass Ref. 1 - W Roos (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 - J Peyper (SA)
TMO - M Cupido(SA)
Performance Reviewer - A Schoonwinkel


Week Two

Date Friday 20 Feb

Match # 8
Match - Hurricanes v Highlanders
Venue - Wellington
Time pm - 19.35
Referee - K Brown (NZ)
Ass Ref. 1 - V Munro (NZ)
Ass Ref. 2 - G Williamson (NZ)
TMO - B Skeen (NZ)
Performance Reviewer - G Wahlstrom

Match # 9
Match - Waratahs v Chiefs
Venue - Sydney
Time pm - 19.40
Referee - S Dickinson (Aus)
Ass Ref. 1 - I Smith (Aus)
Ass Ref. 2 - D Mitchelmore (Aus)
TMO - G Ayoub (Aus)
Performance Reviewer - W Erickson

Match # 10
Match -Western Force v Cheetahs
Venue - Perth
Time pm - 19.45
Referee - J Leckie (AUS)
Ass Ref. 1 - P Marks (Aus)
Ass Ref. 2 - J Pritchard (Aus)
TMO - G Acton (Aus)
Performance Reviewer - A Schoonwinkel

Match # 11
Match -Stormers v Reds
Venue - Cape Town
Time pm - 19.10
Referee - C Pollock (NZ)
Ass Ref. 1 - C Joubert (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 - J Noonan (NZ)
TMO - M Cupido (SA)
Performance Reviewer - G Cooper

Saturday 21 Feb
Match # 12
Match -Brumbies v Crusaders
Venue - Canberra
Time pm -19.40
Referee - B Lawrence (NZ)
Ass Ref. 1 - I Smith (Aus)
Ass Ref. 2 - B Bowden (Aus)
TMO - S Leszcynski (Aus)
Performance Reviewer - W Erickson

Match # 13
Match -Bulls v Blues
Venue - Pretoria
Time pm -17.00
Referee - M Lawrence (SA)
Ass Ref. 1 - M Jonker (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 - S Berry (SA)
TMO - S Veldsman (SA)
Performance Reviewer - G Cooper

Match # 14
Match -Sharks v Lions
Venue - Durban
Time pm - 19.10
Referee - J Kaplan (SA)
Ass Ref. 1 - P Bosch (SA)
Ass Ref. 2 - C Du Preez (SA)
TMO - J Meuwesen (SA)
Performance Reviewer - A Schoonwinkel

http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=17734

[oxleymoron]

Match # 10
Match -Western Force v Cheetahs
TMO - G Acton (Aus)

Better make sure that all tries are scored at least 5m inside the sideline, so there can be no doubt. Ok, I still carry the grudge from April 21st, 2006.

[blueandblack]

Better make sure that all tries are scored at least 5m inside the sideline, so there can be no doubt. Ok, I still carry the grudge from April 21st, 2006.

same.

[jargan83]

Better make sure that all tries are scored at least 5m inside the sideline, so there can be no doubt. Ok, I still carry the grudge from April 21st, 2006.

rightfully so

[robyn <3]

BRYCE LAWERNCE! Ohhhh my gosh. Where's that brick-wall emoticon gone?! Found it

Why do we get given the bad refs from previous Crusader games!? Lawernce was 2007 and Acton was 06... What did we do wrong to deserve this

[jargan83]

BRYCE LAWERNCE! Ohhhh my gosh. Where's that brick-wall emoticon gone?! Found it

Lawernce was 2007

I don't see how you can blame the Ref when you lose by 50 odd points

[robyn <3]

I don't see how you can blame the Ref when you lose by 50 odd points

I know it was a bad game from the force, but that's the game where Canno's neck was done in, and I blame the ref for that. He was outrageous when it came to monitoring the scrum, and Canno paid and I am still angry.

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Lets hope that ejiot Watson has instructed his asstant refs to show some cojones and bring to the attention of the main man of blatant infringements ie forward passes, offside, lineout dramas etc. Dont hold your breath though!

[mudskipper]

Lets hope the refereeing is better this S14 because last year teams didn't make the semis because so of these guys screwed up big time....

[TOCC]

^^ hardly, yes there were screw ups by some of the refs, but no team missed out on the finals because of the refs, thats just a poor excuse

[jargan83]

you take the bad calls with the good calls

eventually you will be on the winning side when a bad call is made

to blame the refs for not making finals is a cop out

[Ecky]

I made a promise to myself not to take the bait and comment on posts that blame the ref for things that were beyond his control, so...

[GIGS20]

^^ hardly, yes there were screw ups by some of the refs, but no team missed out on the finals because of the refs, thats just a poor excuse

Apparently the Brumbies did......as a matter of fact every game they lost last year was due to bad reffing.

Bad reffing might also have something to do with Gits being at the Force!

[jargan83]

Isn't there a saying about how a good team can overcome a bad referee?

I guess the Brumbies aren't a good team

I thought the Brumbies rejected Gits??
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