Super Rugby organisers, SANZAAR have revealed the four referees for the 2018 quarter-finals. Once again, SANZAAR have stuck with appointments being merit-based (rather than entirely neutral) and, somewhat oddly, that their selection “has included direct input from the Super Rugby coaches.”
In Wellington, the Hurricanes host the Chiefs who beat them last weekend in Hamilton. The all-Kiwi affair will be officiated by an all-Kiwi team, headed by referee Glen Jackson.
On Saturday, New Zealand’s Mike Fraser will be in charge of the Crusaders versus Sharks match in Christchurch. Australian Conference winners, the Waratahs host the Highlanders in Sydney where Angus Gardner will be the referee. The last quarter-final is in Johannesburg where Jaco Peyper will referee the Lions versus the Jaguares who make their Super Rugby quarter-final debut.
Earlier in the week SANZAAR issued a bold statement on match officials and the use of the TMO. The statement reads:
The past four weeks of international and domestic rugby have highlighted some challenges within the match officiating processes in the game of rugby, in particular the events over the past two weeks of Super Rugby.
SANZAAR CEO, Andy Marinos stated, “Match officiating is a very important component of our game that undergoes continuous review to keep abreast of law changes and specific directives passed down from World Rugby. The performances of the guys in the middle and those on the sidelines, and behind the TV monitor, are regularly reviewed and appraised to ensure the best referees and officials are officiating in Super Rugby matches.”
“Like a player, match officials who consistently do not perform to the level required are stood down from time to time, with specific game related work then done to get them back to performing consistently.”
“A major concern for us at present is the practical implementation of the Television Match Official (TMO) protocols. The protocols are clearly not working and a specific review is required in this area.”
“SANZAAR believes the appointed referee needs to remain the key decision maker on the field and that TMO interventions only provide context to the match officials’ decision making. We need better consistency in the application of the protocols and most would agree that perhaps this is not the case. The aim of the review will be to drive some operational changes to the protocols to ensure this consistency so that better outcomes are delivered.”
“SANZAAR is not empowered to adjust any protocols that have a direct affect on the Laws of the Game. However, we are keen to lead the discussion in this important area and following our review we will take our recommendations to World Rugby, the guardians of the Laws of Rugby, to ensure beneficial outcomes are achieved for the game.”
It’s probably worth reminding readers that Super Rugby is using a modified version of the TMO Protocol that that used in internationals and other countries protocol.
Other media reports suggest that the World Rugby Council will discuss this as they meet in San Francisco ahead of the Rugby World Cup 7s.
Super Rugby Quarter Finals
Hurricanes v Chiefs
Referee Glen Jackson (NZ)
ARs: Nick Briant (NZ) & Paul Williams (NZ)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)
Crusaders v Sharks
Referee: Mike Fraser (NZ)
ARs: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) & Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
TMO: Shane McDermott (NZ)
Waratahs v Highlanders
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
ARs: Nic Berry (Aus) & Will Houston (Aus)
TMO: George Ayoub (Aus)
Lions v Jaguares
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SA)
ARs: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA) & Egon Seconds (SA)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)
Rugby World Cup 7s
Nineteen match officials from 14 nations are in San Francisco taking charge of a total of 84 matches over the three-day event.
Men’s competition referees:
- Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
- Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
- Craig Evans (Wales)
- Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
- Damon Murphy (Australia)
- Jeremy Rozier (France)
- Matt Rodden (Hong Kong)
- Richard Haughton (England)
- Damian Schneider (Argentina)
- Mike O’Brien (USA)
Women’s competition referees:
- Alhambra Nievas (Spain)
- Joy Neville (Ireland)
- Sara Cox (England)
- Adam Jones (Wales)
- Ben Crouse (South Africa)
- Sakurako Kawasaki (Japan)
- Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
- Rebecca Mahoney (New Zealand)
- Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)