Phillip Bosch refs first Super match

South Africa’s Phillip Bosch has been appointed to referee his first Super 14 rugby match on Saturday when the Lions and the Cheetahs meet at Ellis Park.

Andre Watson, South Africa’s refereeing manager, said: “I am delighted at the appointment. It’s a reward for Phillip’s excellent performance at the Under-19 World Championship. We believe he is now ready for the next step. This is part of his grooming for perhaps even bigger things to come.”

Bosch refereed at the International Rugby Board’s Under-19 World Championship where he came under the scrutiny of, amongst others, Steve Hilditch and Tappe Henning, who are both IRB referee selectors, and Paddy O’Brien, the IRB’s manager of referees.

Bosch, who turns 37 in July, is from Port Elizabeth, a member of the Eastern Province Referees’ Society.