Super Final Referees
It’s the 17th Super rugby Final this weekend and, for the second time Jonathan Kaplan is the referee.
That is not the only second time. For the second time a local referee will referee a Super Rugby Final with teams from abroad and a local referee.
It is the third time that a local referee will be refereeing a Final in his own country, but the second time it happened Paddy O’Brien refereed the Final with two New Zealand teams. That did not happen even in 2007 when two South African teams played in the Final in South Africa. The referee then was Steve Walsh of New Zealand.
The first-ever Super rugby Final was the Final of the Super 10 in 1973. Transvaal played Auckland in Johannesburg and the referee was Freek Burger. Now Jonathan Kaplan will referees the Final at Loftus Versfeld between a South African team and a New Zealand team in the year when SANZAR decided that the best referee for the job will be chosen regardless of the nationalities involved.
Up till now the 16 Finals have been refereed by nine referees.
At least because South African teams have so often been absent from Finals and the principle of appointing unattached referees applies and has applied from the second Final on, most of the Finals have been refereed by South Africans – five of them for ten matches.
New Zealand teams have been missing from five Finals. Their three referees have refereed five Finals. One of the Finals was when both Finalists were New Zealand teams and one when both Finalists were South African teams.
Australian teams have been missing from five Finals. One Australian has refereed a Final, when the Finalists were from New Zealand and South Africa..
André Watson has refereed most Finals, followed by Paddy O’Brien. Both of them have retired as have Freek Burger, Glen Wahlstrom, Wayne Erickson and Tappe Henning, and Steve Walsh is not refereeing at present. That means that the only referees to have refereed a Final and remain active are Jonathan Kaplan and Mark Lawrence. Kaplan will move up to join O’Brien in second place.
All the referees who have refereed Finals have been Test referees.
The referees, by number of appointments, have been:
5 – André Watson
3 – Paddy O’Brien, Jonathan Kaplan
1 – Freek Burger, Glen Wahlstrom, Wayne Erickson, Tappe Henning, Steve Walsh, Mark Lawrence
Finals
Super 10
1993: Transvaal vs Queensland, 20-17 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Freek Burger (South Africa)
1994: Queensland vs Natal, 21-10 at Ballymore, Brisbane
Referee; Glen Wahlstrom (New Zealand)
1995: Queensland vs Transvaal, 30-16 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Paddy O’Brien (New Zealand)
Super 12
1996: Auckland vs Natal, 45-21 at Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Wayne Erickson (Australia)
1997: Auckland Blues vs ACT Brumbies, 23-7 at Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Tappe Henning (South Africa)
1998: Canterbury Crusaders vs Auckland Blues, 20-13 at Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Paddy O’Brien (New Zealand)
1999: Canterbury Crusaders vs Otago Highlanders, 24-19 at Carisbrook, Dunedin
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
2000: Crusaders vs Brumbies, 20-19 at Bruce Stadium, Canberra
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
2001: Brumbies vs Sharks, 30-6 at Bruce Stadium, Canberra
Referee: Paddy O’Brien (New Zealand)
2002: Crusaders vs Brumbies, 31-13 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
2003: Blues vs Crusaders, 21-17 at Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
2004: Brumbies vs Crusaders, 47-38 at Canberra Stadium
Referee: André Watson (South Africa)
2005: Crusaders vs Waratahs, 35-25 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
2006: Crusaders vs Hurricanes, 19-12 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
2007: Sharks vs Bulls, 20-19 at Absa Stadium, Durban
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
2008: Crusaders vs Waratahs, 20-12 at AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
2009: Bulls vs Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
