Two new Currie Cup referees
Joey Salmans and Stuart Berry will be refereeing their very first Currie Cup matches this weekend – memorable occasions for each of them.
Salmans will be refereeing in Durban on Friday night – the Sharks against Boland. Berry will be refereeing in Johannesburg on Saturday afternoon – the Golden Lions against the Cheetahs. Both matches will be televised.
Salmans, who has been refereeing for eight years, has been on South African panels since 2005 and has already travelled to many parts of the world on refereeing business. It has been an exciting week for him, settling into calms as the match approached. He has his coach, Neville Heilbron, with him and his main assistant is Gareth Lloyd-Jones, also a Western Province referee.
Salmans does not have much time to enjoy post-match festivities in Durban as he leaves on a 7.40 flight to Johannesburg with Sindile Mayende who is refereeing the match in Welkom between the Griffons and Eastern Province. The two pick up Sindile’s other assistant, Fakumile Yamile, inn Johannesburg and then drive for thee hours for Welkom.
Busy weekend.
Berry of KwaZulu Natal started refereeing at school in 1999 and then joined the Society in 2001 and first got onto a South African panel in 2002.
He was up in Johannesburg on Saturday for his match to discuss the coming match with André Watson and Tappe Henning.
Like Salmans, Berry is excited and looking forward to 3 o’clock and the start of the match – “something I aspired to from the start”. The Currie Cup is so special.
