S14 Match officials, Week 9
SANZAR has announced the match officials for Week 9 of the Super 14. The principle of merit selection is not immediately obvious.
The panels as originally set out by SANZAR are:
Merit panel: Stuart Dickinson, Matt Goddard, Marius Jonker, Craig Joubert, Jonathan Kaplan, Bryce Lawrence, Mark Lawrence and James Leckie
The “Shadow” Panel: Paul Marks, Chris Pollock, Ian Smith
Reserve Bench: Phillip Bosch, Keith Brown, Vinny Munro, Nathan Pearce.
Those on the Merit Panel not refereeing are Matt Goddard, Marius Jonker, Bryce Lawrence and Mark Lawrence. That’s half the panel. Chris Pollock and Ian Smith of the Shadow panel are not refereeing. But Nathan Pearce of the Reserve Bench is refereeing with Marius Jonker of the merit panel on the line for him. Of the 11 referees graded above him, six are not refereeing this weekend.
Even making allowance for referee welfare and special circumstances, it is hard for an ordinary man to understand.
the appointments now come out a week at a time where they used to be done in blocks. This gives the SANZAR people responsible for making the appointments the latitude to make changes week by week.
Match officials for Week 9
Blues v Lions in Auckland
Referee: James Leckie (Australia)
//Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor: G Wahlstrom (New Zealand)
Western Force v Hurricanes in Perth
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
//Ian Smith (Australia), Brett Bowden (Australia)
Television match official: Julian Pritchard (Australia)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
Highlanders v Reds in Invercargill
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
//Keith Brown (New Zealand), tba
Television match official: James McPhail (New Zealand)
Assessor: Greg Cooper (New Zealand)
Brumbies v Stormers in Canberra
Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)
//Ian Smith (Australia), Daniel Cheever (Australia)
Television match official: Geoff Acton (Australia)
Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia)
Waratahs v Bulls in Sydney
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
//Vinny Munro (New Zealand), Joey Salmans (South Africa)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia)
Cheetahs v Sharks in Bloemfontein
Referee: Nathan Pearce (Australia)
//Marius Jonker (South Africa), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
