S15: Two refs promoted

SANZAR has promoted two referees for its merit panel which is to last for the rest of the Super 15. They are Jaco Peyper of South Africa and Garratt Williamson of New Zealand.

There are now 12 referees on the merit panel and four on the reserve panel.

The panels are based on the assessment of the referees in the Super 15 so far and is done by former Test referees Tappe Henning (South Africa), Colin Hawke (New Zealand) and Andrew Cole (Australia) as well as former Highlanders and Blues coach Greg Cooper with SANZAR Game Manager, Lyndon Bray, as chairman.
 
Bray said of the promotion of Peyper and Williamson: "Both of these referees have been tracking very well during the competition. In reviewing the performance of the entire team we found that Garratt and Jaco had consistently performed as well as - if not better than - some of the Merit Panel referees. Their promotion to the Merit Panel gives us a strong base for the future”.
 
Bray added that the SANZAR Referees selection team was always adamant that it would reward good form in the second half of the Super Rugby competition.
 
 Bray went on to say: “We also have to plan around the workloads that lie ahead for the SANZAR referees who have been selected for the Rugby World Cup.
 
“Therefore, there will be opportunities to run our reserve referees and perhaps some exciting new refereeing talent towards the end of the competition, depending on where teams are placed in the race for the Finals series.  This is extremely important as we need to continue to explore our depth and talent, similar to what we do with the respective teams."
 
Panels
 
Merit Panel: Keith Brown (New Zealand), Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Marius Jonker (South Africa), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Steve Walsh (Australia), Jonathon White (New Zealand), Garratt Williamson (New Zealand).
 
Reserve Panel: Pro Legoete (South Africa), Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Nathan Pearce (Australia), Ian Smith (Australia).
 
Appointments to Weeks 11 & 12
 
Week 11

Highlanders vs Blues in Dunedin  
Referees: Chris Pollock

Cheetahs vs Brumbies in Bloemfontein  
Referees: Marius Jonker

Hurricanes vs Reds in Wellington  
Referees: Keith Brown

Waratahs vs Rebels in Sydney  
Referees: Jonathan Kaplan

Force vs Crusaders in  Perth  
Referees: Vinny Munro

Bulls vs Chiefs in  Pretoria  
Referees: Craig Joubert

Stormers vs Sharks at Newlands  
Referees: Steve Walsh

Bye:  Lions

Week 12 

Hurricanes vs Blues in Wellington  
Referees: Jonathan Kaplan

Rebels vs Reds in Melbourne  
Referees: Bryce Lawrence

Lions vs Cheetahs in Johannesburg 
Referees: Craig Joubert

Chiefs vs Highlanders in Hamilton 
Referees: Chris Pollock

Waratahs vs Force in Sydney  
Referees: Stuart Dickinson

Stormers vs Crusaders at Newlands
Referees: Steve Walsh

Sharks vs Brumbies in Durban 
Referees: Mark Lawrence

Bye:  Bulls