S15: Referee changes
SANZAR has announced changes to the appointments of referees to Super 15 Rounds 9 and 10 which it promulgated on Monday. Injuries to Chris Pollock and Stave Walsh have brought about the changes in Round 9.
Pollock, who has a calf injury, has withdrawn from the match between the Rebels and the Highlanders in Melbourne on Friday and has been replaced by Garratt Williamson of New Zealand, whilst Walsh, who also has a calf injury, has withdrawn from the match between the Brumbies and the Western Force in Canberra on Sunday and is replaced by Keith Brown of New Zealand.
SANZAR Game Manager, Lyndon Bray, said: “The selection team for the referees was determined to ensure that these two top performing referees [Pollock and Walsh] were fully fit for their next assignments, from Round 10 onwards. There was simply too much doubt around their injuries to risk them in the middle this weekend. Any recurrence of the injuries might have seen them out for between four and six weeks, if we put the injuries under pressure over 80 minutes.”
The selection team has, meanwhile, made one change to the Round 10 appointments.
Bray said: “The selectors have decided to move Jonathon White onto the Blues vs Rebels match in Albany on Friday 22 April and bring Steve Walsh into the Reds vs Waratahs match on Saturday 23rd. Swapping Jonathon from that match onto the Albany match was a simple ‘horses for courses’ decision.
“The game in Brisbane is a ‘top-of-the-table clash and has the potential to determine the top team from the Australian Conference.
“Whilst Jonathon is a highly regarded referee, he has only recently entered the 2011 competition and after two games is beginning to rekindle the form he demonstrated last year. The right decision is to put Steve, who has been performing extremely well, into this critical home conference fixture.”
Pollock comes into Round 10 as an assistant referee and there are other changes to assistant referees in the two rounds.
Week 9
Chiefsvs Crusaders in Mt Maunganui
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Television match official: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Rebels vs Highlanders in Melbourne
Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Australia), Steve Hardy (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Blues vs Waratahs in Auckland
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathon White (New Zealand)
Television match official: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Reds vs Bulls in Brisbane
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Lesczcynski (Australia)
Lions vs Stormers in Johannesburg
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Cheetahs vs Hurricanes in Bloemfontein
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nathan Pearce (Australia), Reuben Rossouw (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Brumbies vs Force in Canberra
Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Week 10 – Easter
Blues vs Rebels in Albany
Referee: Jonathon White (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Crusaders vs Highlanders in Nelson
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Vinny Munro (New Zealand), James McPhail (New Zealand)
Television match official: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Reds vs Waratahs in Brisbane
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ian Smith (Australia), Stephen Hill (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Lesczcynski (Australia)
Force vs Bulls in Perth
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Andrew Lees (Australia), Julian Pritchard (Australia)
Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Sharks vs Hurricanes in Durban
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nathan Pearce (Australia), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Lions vs Chiefs in Johannesburg
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match official: Gerrie Coetzee (South Africa)
