- 2016 Super Rugby referees announced
- Nine first-time members of the squad including Federico Anselmi (Argentina) and Shuhei Kubo (Japan);
- No change to TMO protocols
SANZAAR, the updated name for SANZAR now that Argentina are fully on board, have confirmed that the Super Rugby referees for the new season which starts on 26 February.
The 2016 referee squad contains 22 members, of which nine are in line to make their first appearance at this level. Seeing the expansion of the game into Argentina and Japan, the list includes Federico Anselmi and Shuhei Kubo.
The group recently met at the International College of Management in Manly for a five-day camp that included rigorous physical training (see pic), refinement of mental skills and a comprehensive briefing around a number of variations that are set to be introduced for the 2016 season.
CEO Andy Marinos also attended a full day session with the referees along with SANZAAR’s Head of Operations, Brendan Morris. Marinos said, “It was important for me to meet with the men who play a big role in the product that Super Rugby is and to share with them the business and rugby imperatives that we have.”
It had been suggested that there may have been a change to the TMO protocol, but this was quashed by the SANZAAR leadership. This would have caused some unease among the senior end of the refereeing group who are involved in the 6Nations and would have involved refereeing to different protocols. World Rugby are also in the middle of the TMO review (see here for their recently announced survey) so SANZAAR have decided to retain ‘status quo’ for 2016.
2016 Super Rugby Referees
Federico Anselmi (Argentina – 0 Super Rugby, 7 Tests)*
Nic Berry (Australia – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Stuart Berry (South Africa – 21 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)
Nick Briant (New Zealand – 25 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)
Mike Fraser (New Zealand – 23 Super Rugby, 4 Tests)
Angus Gardner (Australia – 26 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)
Rohan Hoffmann (Australia – 26 Super Rugby, 3 Tests)
William Houston (Australia – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Quinton Immelman (South Africa – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Glen Jackson (New Zealand – 41 Super Rugby, 16 Tests)
Craig Joubert (South Africa – 93 Super Rugby, 64 Tests)
Shuhei Kubo (Japan – 0 Super Rugby, 6 Tests)*
Andrew Lees (Australia – 22 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)
Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand – 5 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)
Jaco Peyper (South Africa – 59 Super Rugby, 29 Tests)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Chris Pollock (New Zealand – 70 Super Rugby, 22 Tests)
Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa – 9 Super Rugby, 1 Test)
Jaco van Heerden (South Africa – 6 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)
Paul Williams (New Zealand – 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*