Super Referees 2011
The top referees in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are refereeing in this year’s Super 15, one of the rugby world’s most demanding competitions. Who are they?
We have some information on each of them to broaden our knowledge of them as they are usually known only when somebody is cross with them.
Australia: Stuart Dickinson, Nathan Pearce, Ian Smith, Steve Walsh.
New Zealand: Keith Brown, Glen Jackson, Bryce Lawrence, Vinny Munro, Chris Pollock, Jonathon White, Garratt Williamson.
South Africa: Marius Jonker, Craig Joubert, Jonathan Kaplan, Mark Lawrence, Pro Legoete, Jaco Peyper.
They are the 18 top referees in three countries of many referees.
Stuart Dickinson
Once a policeman, then a businessman and now full-time referee, Stuart Dickinson has refereed more Super rugby matches than anybody else since making his debut in 1996, the same year that Tana Umaga first played Super rugby. He is one of the most experienced Test referee in the world, close to 50 Tests since his first – Papua New Guinea vs Tahiti in 1997.
In 1998 he refereed Wales vs South Africa at Wembley and the next year he attended the first of his three World Cups – 1999, 2003 and 2007. In 2007 he was the television match official for the final between South Africa and England, making a call on the Mark Cueto ‘try’ that will be forever a part of World Cup lore.
Dickinson turns 43 on 19 July this year.
Nathan Pearce
Nathan Pearce is a member of the New South Wales Rugby Referees Association. He refereed his first Super Rugby match in 2008. By the end of 2010 he had refereed five Super Rugby matches. He has refereed two Tests, both in 2009 – Tonga vs Fiji in Nuku’alofa and Japan vs Samoa in Sigitoka, Fiji.
Pearce turns 36 on 23 June this year.
Ian Smith
In 2008 Ian Smith refereed his first Super Rugby match and also his only Test match – Samoa vs Tonga. The next year the IRB produced a development panel and Smith was on that as well.
Born in Brisbane on 1 February 1979, Smith became an accountant, in the same Sydney firm as Matt Goddard, the former Test referee.
Steve Walsh
Steve Walsh, who is really a New Zealander though living in Sydney and refereeing out of Australia, started refereeing as a child and refereed his first Super Rugby match at the age of 25 and his first Test at 26. New Zealand suspended him for behavioural problems and he moved to Australia. At the start of this season he had refereed 65 Super Rugby matches, including the 2007 Super 14 Final, and after the Six Nations he has now refereed 40 Tests, including the South Africa – Argentina semifinal in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Keith Brown
Keith Brown born in Invercargill, right at the bottom of New Zealand, the home of Paddy O’Brien, one of the most famous referees in the world. Now he is a lawyer in Dunedin.
After just three years of refereeing, Brown was in first league. In 2002 he refereed his first representative match and in 2008 his first Super Rugby match. In that year, too, he refereed the first of his four Tests – Fiji vs Samoa.
On 18 December this year, Brown will be 40.
Glen Jackson
Glen Jackson is unusual amongst top referees. He was a top player who became a referee and is now on the way to being a top referee. He made his first class debut in 2010 when he refereed seven representative matches. He is yet to referee a Super Rugby match but he is learning the circuit as an assistant referee.
Flyhalf Jackson started his first class career in 2001 with Bay of Plenty who won the Ranfurly Shield when he played for them. He played 60 times for the Chiefs and then in 2004 he moved to Saracens for whom he played 130 times before he retired in 2010.
Jackson started refereeing when he was still playing and was snapped up by the referees when he returned home to New Zealand.
Jackson turns 36 on 23 October.
Bryce Lawrence
Bryce Lawrence’s father Keith was a Test referee (1985-91) and the manager of New Zealand referees. Son Bryce, a primary school principal turned full-time referee, has been refereeing Super Rugby since 2005. By the end of 29010 he had refereed 39 Super matches. He made his Test debut in 2005 with France against Canada and has now refereed 19 Tests
Two days before Christmas last year Lawrence turned 40.
Vinny Munro
Vinny Munro, a policeman by profession, was much involved in working against the earthquake disaster that struck his home city, Christchurch.
Grey-haired but not the oldest Super Rugby referee he has been refereeing Super Rugby since 2009 and by the end of 2010 had refereed seven matches. In 2009 he refereed the first of his two Tests – Japan against Canada.
Munro has made a name for himself as a specialist assistant referee and is on the IRB’s panel of specialist assistant referees.
On 15 January this year Munro turned 42.
Chris Pollock
Chris Pollock, a physical education teacher by profession, has been refereeing Super Rugby since 2006, six years after his first class debut and a year after the first of his seven Tests – Niue vs Tahiti.
Pollock will turn 39 on 9 November.
Jonathon White
Last year, at the age of 30, Jonathon White became the youngest referee ever to referee the Final of New Zealand’s provincial championship. But then, after starting refereeing at school, he was 19 when he made his first class debut. It took another 10 years for him to get into Super Rugby and by the end of last year he had refereed two Super Rugby matches. He is the second youngest Super Rugby referee in 2011.
Born in Wellington on 19 June 1980 and educated in Dunedin he now lives in Auckland as a cardiologist.
Garratt Williamson
Garratt Williamson turns 40 at the end of April. He has been refereeing first class matches in New Zealand since 2003 and made his Super Rugby debut in 2009 and refereed his only Test in 2010 – Japan vs Samoa.
Williamson was born and educated in Wellington and, now a full-time referee, lives there with his wife and two children.
Marius Jonker
Marius Jonker, a particularly accurate referee, started refereeing after his playing career and made his provincial debut in 2001. In 2004 he refereed his first Super Rugby match and the first of his 22 Tests – Uganda vs Zimbabwe.
In charge of security for a large machinery company, Jonker lives in Richards Bay in Zululand. He will turn 43 on 19 June this year.
Craig Joubert
Craig Joubert’s late father, Des, was a provincial referee and an inspiration to his son who took up refereeing at school, made his provincial debut at 21, his Super Rugby debut at 28 and his Test debut the same year. By the end of 2010 he had refereed 141 first class matches, including the Currie Cup Final, 39 Super Rugby matches, including the Super 14 Final in 2010 and has now refereed 23 Tests after making his debut in 2005 with the USA vs Wales.,
Jonathan Kaplan
Jonathan Kaplan is the most experienced Test referee of all time, having this year refereed his 63rd Test, He was the first referee in the history of the game to get to 50 Tests.
He started refereeing as a schoolboy, made his first class debut at the age of 26, his Test debut at 29 and his Super Rugby debut at 30. By the end of last year he had refereed 359 first class matches, including five Currie Cup Finals, and 75 Super Rugby matches, including three Finals. He has been to three World Cups -in 199, 2003 and 2007.
Kaplan will be 45 on 7 November this year, still a remarkably fit man.
Mark Lawrence
An optometrist from Standerton in Mpumalanga, Mark Lawrence has had a great refereeing career. He made his first class debut in 1994 when he was 28, his Super Rugby debut in 1999 and his Test debut in 2000 when Fiji played Italy. In 2007 he refereed the Currie Cup Final and in 2008 the Super 14 Final. He has refereed 25 Tests.
Born on 16 June 1965 he is the oldest of the Super Rugby referees this year, not that he is particularly old – a remarkably fit man.
Pro Legoete
Pro is a nickname. He is really Lesego Legoete. The nickname came from friends who thought that when it came to sport he was a pro. He played flyhalf for the Rand Afrikaans University, as the university of Johannesburg then was, and for South African Students at the 1996 Students’ World Cup.
In 2001, aged 25, he joined the Golden Lions Referees’ Society. He has refereed provincial rugby, Sevens on the World Series and Super Rugby and in 2008 he became a Test referee when he refereed Romania vs Uruguay in Bucharest. He has refereed four Tests.
If you listen into him, you will hear him say ‘Enjoy’ just before he blows the whistle for the first kick-off.
Legoete was born in Johannesburg on 19 October 1976, which makes him 34.
Jaco Peyper
Jaco Peyper, recently married, is the youngest of the 2011 Super 15 referees. He turns 31 next month.
A Bloemfontein lawyer. Peyper started refereeing provincial rugby in South Africa in 2006 and had his first experience of refereeing Super Rugby in 2008. By the end of 2010 he had refereed six Super matches. Like Jonathon White, he has not yet refereed a Test match.
