Super Rugby refs for 2012
SANZAR has finalised its referees for Super Rugby 2012 with five new names added to the team, it was announced on Friday.
SANZAR has finalised its referees for Super Rugby 2012 with five new names added to the team.
Angus Gardner and Andrew Lees (Australia), Mike Fraser (New Zealand) and Lourens van der Merwe and Stuart Berry (South Africa) have been selected into the team for the first time.
The newcomers will join a strong line-up of experienced referees on the respective SANZAR Merit and Reserve panels.
“We plan to give our Merit Panel referees around 80% of the games in Super Rugby, next year, with the Reserve Panel picking up the balance,” said SANZAR Game Manager Lyndon Bray.
“Our aim is for the best referees to be refereeing the most rugby. The Reserve Panel will operate in a similar way to a rugby team's reserve bench.
“It is inevitable that we need reserve referees performing in the middle because, like players, referees can suffer from injuries and loss of form. In addition, it is vital that we continue to develop and grow our talent for the future, which cannot be achieved overnight.
“The five new referees will gain valuable Super Rugby experience in 2012 and will join three other referees on our Reserve panel. This will help us maintain the growth of our team, with up to five referees potentially leaving the team by the end of next year.”
Four referees from 2011 will not be involved in the 2012 tournament – Stuart Dickinson has retired, whilst Vinny Munro, Pro Legoete and Nathan Pearce were not selected for 2012.
“Stuart had a very celebrated career in the top flight for many years and he will be sorely missed by our team,” Bray said.
“Knowing that we are likely to lose some more referees from our team next year, it was important to balance the new guys selected for 2012 with some maturity and experience.
“We believe we have a strong team of referees for Super Rugby 2012 Super Rugby and some new competition will be healthy within our team.”
The full SANZAR referee team is:
Merit Panel: Keith Brown (NZ), Marius Jonker (SA), Craig Joubert (SA), Jonathan Kaplan (SA), Bryce Lawrence (NZ), Mark Lawrence (SA), Jaco Peyper (SA), Chris Pollock (NZ), Steve Walsh (AUS) and Garratt Williamson (NZ).
Reserve Panel: Stuart Berry (SA), Mike Fraser (NZ), Angus Gardner (AUS), Glen Jackson (NZ), Andrew Lees, (AUS) Ian Smith (AUS), Lourens van der Merwe (SA) and Jonathon White (NZ).