SANZAAR are sticking with their established ‘best referee’ policy for the Super Rugby 2017 Final, as South African Jaco Peyper gets the nod for the Lions v Crusaders match.

The final, being played in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon, will see Peyper assisted by New Zealander Glen Jackson, who refereed the Crusaders versus Chiefs semi-final and fellow South African,  Marius van der Westhuizen. The Television Match Official (TMO) is Marius Jonker, also of S. Africa.

Commenting on the appointments, SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos said, “SANZAAR congratulates Jaco Peyper and all the match officials selected to this year’s final. The match official selection is never easy as we have a very dedicated group of officials who week in, week out perform very professionally and to very high standards.”

“The selection criteria for all match official appointments for the last two years follows a clear tournament policy – as agreed by the SANZAAR Executive Committee and the tournament’s stakeholders – that such appointments be merit-based.”

“This policy is written into the tournament protocols and appointments are made according to this policy on a weekly basis and is also the policy used for the finals last year as well as this year.”

“This merit-based policy was reflected with the appointment last year of New Zealand referee Glen Jackson to referee the Hurricanes versus Lions final in Wellington. SANZAAR stands behind the policy and believes the best referees should be available to officiate the best matches,” added Marinos.

2017 Super Rugby Final Match Officials

Match Referee: Jaco Peyper (S Africa)
Assistant Referee (1): Glen Jackson (N Zealand)
Assistant Referee (2): Marius van der Westhuizen (S Africa)
Television Match Official (TMO): Marius Jonker (S Africa)