Irish referee to take charge of URC Grand Final

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The match official appointments of the United Rugby Championship Grand Final have been confirmed.

Andrew Brace has been appointed as the match referee for this weekend’s URC Final between the Stormers and the Bulls in Cape Town.

It is the second time Brace has been handed the responsibility for the league decider having held the whistle for the 2021 PRO14 Final between Leinster and Ulster in Dublin.

Brace turns 34 ahead of this game and made his league debut in September 2015 when he took charge of Cardiff Blues v Zebre and since then has gone to referee knock-out matches in the PRO14, EPCR Challenge Cup and the Champions Cup.

In 2018, the Irish official refereed his first Tier One fixture (Argentina v Wales), he was then appointed as an assistant referee for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and shortly afterwards he made his Six Nations debut in 2020 (France v Italy).

In addition to the URC Grand Final, Brace will also take charge of one of England’s three Test matches in Australia next month.

For this weekend’s game Brace will be assisted by Jaco Peyper and AJ Jacobs (both SARU).

In addition to the URC Grand Final, Brace will also take charge of one of England’s three Test matches in Australia next month.

For this weekend’s game Brace will be assisted by Jaco Peyper and AJ Jacobs (both SARU).

Stormers v Bulls

Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Kick-off: 19.30 (17.30 GMT)

Referee: Andy Brace (IRFU, 80th league game)

Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (SARU), AJ Jacobs (SARU)

TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)