Sevens refs announced
The International Rugby Board has announced the names of the referees for its eight-round 2009-10 series and the venues at which they will appear.
The Sevens have been a great launching pad for several top referees, including Craig Joubert, Marius Jonker, Wayne Barnes and Nigel Owens.
There are experienced Sevens referees amongst those for the coming series – Andrew Lees, Andrew McMenemy, James Bolabiu and Taizo Hirabayashi – but there are also new appointments from ten different countries – Mike Fraser, Stuart Berry, JP Doyle, Laurent Cordona, Colin Stanley, Alan Falzone, David Smortchevsky, Akihisa Aso, Rohan Hoffman and Harry Mason.
The referees appointed are: Taizo Hirabayashi, Leighton Hodges, Andrew McMenemy, Greg Garner, James Bolabiu, Francisco Pastrana , Andrew Lees, Jason Jaftha, Mike Fraser, Stuart Berry, JP Doyle, Laurent Cordona, Colin Stanley, Alan Falzone, David Smortchevsky, Akihisa Aso, Rohan Hoffman, Harry Mason
Of them Hoffman, an Australian by birth, was a member of the Portuguese national team. He played for Portugal 28 times, the last four seasons as captain.
The dates of the events are as follows:
Dubai:4-5 December 2009
George: 11-12 December 2009
Wellington: 4-6 February 2009
USA: 13-14 February 2009
Adelaide: 20-21 March 2009
Hong Kong: 26-28 March 2009
London: 22-23 May 2009
Edinburgh: 29-30 May 2009
The referees have been allotted to events as follows:
Akihisa Aso: Adelaide, Hong Kong
Stuart Berry: Wellington, USA, London, Edinburgh
James Bolabiu: Wellington, USA, Adelaide, Hong Kong
Laurent Cordona: Dubai, George, London, Edinburgh
JP Doyle: Dubai, George, Wellington, USA, London, Edinburgh
Alan Falzone: Dubai, George
Mike Fraser: Wellington, USA, Adelaide, Hong Kong
Greg Garner: Adelaide, Hong Kong, London, Edinburgh
Taizo Hirabayashi: Dubai, George, Wellington, USA, Adelaide, Hong Kong
Leighton Hodges: Dubai, George, London, Edinburgh
Rohan Hoffman: Dubai, George
Jason Jaftha: Dubai, George
Andrew Lees: Wellington, USA, Adelaide, Hong Kong
Andrew McMenemy: Dubai, George, London, Edinburgh
Harry Mason: Wellington, USA, Hong Kong
Francisco Pastrana: Wellington, USA, Adelaide, Hong Kong
David Smortchevsky: Adelaide, Hong Kong, London, Edinburgh
Colin Stanley: London, Edinburgh
