Bryce Lawrence to referee Final
SANZAR has announced that Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand would referee the Final of the Super 15 and that Jonathan Kaplan and Craig Joubert of South Africa have been appointed to referee the semifinals of the Super 15.
The SANZAR Referee Selection Team had appointed Kaplan, Joubert, Bryce Lawrence and Chris Pollock (both from New Zealand) to control the five games in the Finals Series.
The selectors determined that he had been the best performing referee throughout the Super 15.
the Reds and the Stormers ended first and second on the Super 15 log and go straight through to the semifinal. Their opponents will be determined by the outcome of this weekend’s play-offs – Crusaders vs Sharks and Blues vs Waratahs.
Lawrence and Pollock will referee the two qualifiers this weekend – Pollock refereeing the clash between the Blues and the Waratahs in Auckland on Friday and Lawrence taking charge of the match between the Crusaders and the Sharks in Nelson on Saturday.
Kaplan and Joubert will be in charge of the semifinals next weekend, with Kaplan set to referee the Reds’ home tie in Brisbane and Joubert due to take the whistle for the Stormers semi-final in Cape Town.
SANZAR Game Manager, Lyndon Bray, said he was satisfied that the processes applied in 2011 had culminated in these four referees being selected for the Vodacom Super Rugby Finals Series. As part of SANZAR’s detailed review and evaluation process, all team coaches were invited to rate their ‘top 5’ referees in the competition. These results were collated and taken into consideration when the Finals Series appointments were made.
Bray said: “After completing our ratings of the 16-strong SANZAR referees squad we canvassed the 15 team coaches for their inputs.
“It was really pleasing that our selections were confirmed by the feedback received from the coaches. We took into consideration the form of each referee throughout the 21 weeks of competition, and then considered the best ‘fit’ for the Finals Series. We have decided to use those considered as our best four, determining that the referee who controls the Final should also referee a qualifier to prevent him from having three successive weeks on the sidelines.”
Bray added: “You like to think that by the time you get to the Finals, the decisions largely take care of themselves.
“The very comprehensive review process we follow each week, helps us to make our decisions logically and with a real confidence. However, there are always going to be referees who can consider themselves unlucky when it comes to selection.
“In terms of the four selected, I am delighted for each of them, as they have all worked incredibly hard to deliver the best possible outcomes for the teams and the game in this competition.”
Super 15 semifinal appointments
Saturday 2 July, Reds vs TBC in Brisbane
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Saturday 2 July, Stormers vs TBC in Cape Town
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
The competing teams and the venue for the Final on 9 July will be determined by the outcome of the semifinals.
