In Super Rugby, round 12 kicks-off with the tournament-leading Crusaders taking on the Sharks with Brendon Pickerill the referee. Gus Gardner will have the whistle for the Reds versus Sunwolves match, with fellow Aussie Nic Berry looking after the Rebels v Hurricanes. Mike Fraser, Damon Murphy, Jaco Peyper and AJ Jacobs all referee too.
In the Pro14, Elite Referee Manager Greg Garner has selected the 11 officials who will be involved as referees and ARs in the final knock-out phase of the competition.
They are Nigel Owens (WRU), Ben Whitehouse (WRU), Ian Davies (WRU), Dan Jones (WRU), Johnny Lacey (IRFU), Andrew Brace (IRFU), Frank Murphy (IRFU), Sean Gallagher (IRFU), George Clancy (IRFU), Marius Mitrea (FIR) and Mike Adamson (SRU). They will be joined by TMOs when the appointments are made, once the teams have been whittled down. This weekend, there’s two quarter-finals to decide who plays automatically-qualifies Glasgow and Leinster in the semi-finals. Andrew Brace and Nigel Owens will be in charge.
In England, there’s 524 Premiership matches of experience on display as Matthew Carley, Wayne Barnes, Tom Foley, Ian Tempest, Christophe Ridley and Luke Pearce all referee.
Enjoy your rugby this weekend
Super Rugby – Round 12
Crusaders v Sharks
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
ARs: Mike Fraser & James Munro
TMO: Glenn Newman
Reds v Sunwolves
Referee: Angus Gardner
ARs: Ben O’Keeffe & Damon Murphy
TMO: Ian Smith
Hurricanes v Rebels
Referee: Nic Berry
ARs: Paul Williams & Glen Jackson
TMO: Aaron Paterson
Highlanders v Chiefs
Referee: Mike Fraser
ARs: Brendon Pickerill & James Doleman
TMO: Glenn Newman
Brumbies v Blues
Referee: Damon Murphy
ARs: Ben O’Keeffe & Angus Gardner
TMO: Ian Smith
Bulls v Waratahs
Referee: Jaco Peyper
ARs: Rasta Rasivhenge & Cwengile Jadezweni
TMO: Christie du Preez
Jaguares v Stormers
Referee: AJ Jacobs
ARs: Marius van der Westhuizen & Federico Anselmi
TMO: Santiago Borsani
Malaysia v Sri Lanka
Referee: Nik Mohd Ramadahn
ARs: Jefri Mustafa & Raja Saiful Malek
Gallagher Premiership – Round 21
Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks
Referee: Matthew Carley (85th Premiership game)
ARs: Anthony Woodthorpe & Paul Dix
TMO: David Grashoff
Citing Officer: Andrew Pearce
Harlequins v Leicester Tigers
Referee: Wayne Barnes (216th Premiership game)
ARs: Craig Maxwell-Keys & JP Doyle
TMO: Graham Hughes
Citing Officer: Nick Wood
Gloucester Rugby v Newcastle Falcons
Referee: Tom Foley (66th Premiership game)
ARs: Jack Makepeace & Simon McConnell
TMO: Keith Lewis
Citing Officer: James Hall
Northampton Saints v Worcester Warriors
Referee: Christophe Ridley (14th Premiership game)
ARs: Steve Lee & Philip Watters
TMO: Claire Hodnett
Citing Officer: Danae Zamboulis
Saracens v Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Ian Tempest (59th Premiership game)
ARs: Robert Warburton & Jonathan Healy
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Citing Officer: Shaun Gallagher
Bath Rugby v Wasps
Referee: Luke Pearce (90th Premiership game)
ARs: Hamish Smales & Wayne Falla
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Citing Officer: John Byett
Greene King Championship Final
London Irish v Ealing Trailfinders
Referee: Greg Macdonald
ARs: Shane Lewis & Clare Daniels
TMO: Sean Davey
Inter Services match
Army v Navy (at Twickenham stadium)
Referee: Matthew O’Grady
ARs: Dean Richards & Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Geoff Warren
Pro14 Quarter finals
Munster Rugby v Benetton Rugby
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
ARs: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) & Dan Jones (WRU)
TMO: Ian Davies (WRU)
Ulster Rugby v Connacht Rugby
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
ARs: John Lacey (IRFU) & George Clancy (IRFU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Top 14 – Round 24
Toulouse v Pau
Referee: Maxime Chalon
ARs: Jonathan Dufort & Christian Coussan
TMO: Éric Gonthier
Grenoble v Agen
Referee: Romain Poite
ARs: Pierre Brousset & Éric Soulan
TMO: Denis Grenouillet
Castres v Montpellier
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
ARs: Tual Trainini & Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Ludovic Sclafer
Clermont v Perpignan
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
ARs: Vincent Blasco Baqué & Jacques De Lemos
TMO: Éric Gauzins
La Rochelle v Toulon
Referee: Cédric Marchat
ARs: Julien Castaignède & Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Akim Hadj Bachir
Lyon v Bordeaux-Bègles
Referee: Sébastien Minery
ARs: Ludovic Cayre & Frédéric Chazal
TMO: Éric Briquet Campin
Racing v Stade Français
Referee: Cyril Lafon
ARs: Adrien Descottes & Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Patrick Dellac
Major League Rugby – Round 15
New Orleans Gold v Austin Elite
TBC
Glendale Raptors v Utah Warriors
Referee: Scott Green
ARs: Robin Kaluzniak & Cam Petitt
Toronto Arrows v San Diego Legion
Referee: Luke Rogan
ARs: Moe Chaudhry & Pete Pender
Rugby United New York v Houston Sabercats
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
ARs: Gavin Mccandless & Butch Neuenschwander
It may not have escaped your attention that Super Rugby is less and less patronised – even in NZ. Amongst my ex Wallaby group it is now considered boring and mostly unwatchable, principally because the defensive line following the breakdown is not only spread across the field and is virtually unbreakable but defenders make an art of attacking across the advantage line in an off-side position. Most frequently they do this behind the ref’s back but refs seem only to police this breach on an infrequent basis and with no apparent assistance from touch judges who, as I understand it, are meant to be assistant refs. My friends and I watch friend and foe do this – initially with indignation but now with resigned derision. It is simply astonishing that Sanzar or whoever is in charge of refereeing policy allows this to continue week after week. Watch any match and you will see defending teams give themselves a meter’s start over the advantage line in a very high number of cases.
Fully agree with the above..I think the problem arises as defenders are allowed to ”empty” the ruck and then spread across the gain line. Suggest that if they ”empty” the ruck…it no longer exists in law and therefore the ball, wherever it is, is now back in play. Far too much protection given to scrum halves ..they need to do their primary function..Get the ball away !!
That’s of course if they [the rucks] ever exist at all! We get this a lot and when you review frame by frame, the vast majority of times they’re actually onside. And others it’s so marginal it’s not a call a referee or AR can or would make. Tough one and I’m not sure I know what the solution is. Been some trials of a back foot +1m but that sounds impossible to referee too.