South Africa’s National Panel referee, Ben Crouse is heading for a US Major League Rugby assignment in February.
Crouse, who stepped down from the World Rugby 7s circuit last season to concentrate on the XV-a-side format, will take up the whistle in the USA’s Major League Rugby (MLR) competition on a five-week assignment.
He’ll be heading to Salt Lake City in Utah from where he’ll head out to referee six matches. First up, is the match between New Orleans Gold and Rugby United New York in New Orleans on 16 February. He’ll finish up in San Diego on 10 March when he’ll referee the San Diego Legion v Toronto Arrows.
Crouse, from the Free State region, is now 35 and has been on the South African National Panel since 2008. He joined the World Rugby 7’s Circuit 2013 culminating in refereeing at the Rio Olympics in 2016. He originally played scrum half for Otto du Plessis school and Despatch Rugby Club until taking up the whistle.
The MLR competition, which features 10 teams and will run through to May, was launched in 2017 with the objective of driving American rugby to a higher levels as a professional sport. They also hope to see the competition inspire the next generation of young men and women to participate in sport.
“This exchange programme serves as a fantastic opportunity for Ben and for the SA Rugby Referee department,” said SA Rugby CEO, Jurie Roux.
“With rugby growing worldwide, this will offer Ben a rare opportunity to experience American rugby first-hand and to grow further in his career.
“Last year we had a few up-and-coming European referees officiate Craven Week matches to expose them to South African rugby, and this opportunity will allow us to further contribute to the growth of the global rugby community, while at the same time investing in our referees.
“We would like to wish Ben good luck for this exciting assignment and we know he will be a good ambassador for South Africa and SA Rugby.”
