South African referee duo make Sevens 2024 panel
NEWS: South Africa’s AJ Jacobs and Morne Ferreira were included on the Match Official panels for the 2023-2024 World Sevens Series, leading into the Olympic Games Paris 2024, World Rugby has announced.
The men’s and women’s panels each feature 12 representatives from 10 unions. On the men’s side, all 12 officials have amassed more than 50 series matches over the last three seasons, while the women’s panel includes a blend of highly experienced referees and exciting young talent making their Series debuts.
Under the new model, the Sevens series features seven regular-season events plus a Grand Final. The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of SVNS SGP will secure their opportunity to compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s SVNS 2024 champions will be crowned.
Madrid will also play host to the high stakes relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their place on SVNS 2025.
Men’s panel: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Paulo Duarte (Portugal), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Francisco González (Uruguay), Nick Hogan (NZ), AJ Jacobs (SA), Reuben Keane (Australia), Adam Leal (England), Tevita Rokovereni (Fiji), Jérémy Rozier (France), Morné Ferreira (SA), Jordan Way (Australia).
Women’s panel: Finlay Brown (Scotland), Craig Chan (Hong Kong), Talal Chaudhry (Canada), Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZ), Lauren Jenner (NZ), Ano Kuwai (Japan), Maria Latos (Germany), Jess Ling (Australia), Cisco Lopez (USA), Tyler Miller (Australia), Kat Roche (USA), George Selwood (England).
