SA officials overlooked for Super Rugby duty
The names of South African referee Jaco van Heerden and TMO Shaun Veldsman were conspicuously absent when this weekend’s Super Rugby officials were named on Wednesday.
There are no byes this weekend which meant with nine matches on the cards these two officials would normally have been named on duty list
Their omission might reflect Sanzaar’s unhappiness with their performance last weekend at Newlands where Shaun Treeby was not carded for a swinging arm tackle that knocked Blues flyhalf Piers Francis unconscious at Newlands.
Despite nine matches with all 18 teams in action, SANZAAR has omitted South African referee Jaco van Heerden and TMO Shaun Veldsman from duty in Round 14.
They pair made headlines for all the wrong reasons in Round 13, angering in particular Blues fans and management after failing to issue a red – or even yellow – card to Stormers centre Shaun Treeby for a swinging arm tackle that knocked Blues flyhalf Piers Francis unconscious. The two officials agreed a penalty was sufficient punishment.
Subsequently, Sanzaar’s Foul Play Review Committee handed Treeby a three-week ban.
Referee appointments for Round 14 matches:
Friday:
Blues v Chiefs, Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Angus Gardner
AR1: Nick Briant
AR2: Angus Mabey
TMO: Glenn Newman
Reds v Force, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Brendon Pickerill
AR1: Rohan Hoffmann
AR2: Jordam Way
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore
Saturday
Sunwolves v Cheetahs, Prince Chichibu Stadium, Tokyo
Referee: Will Houston
AR1: Shuhei Kubo
AR2: Akihisa Aso
TMO: Minoru Fuji
Highlanders v Waratahs, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
AR1: James Doleman
AR2: Cam Stone
TMO: Shane McDermott
Rebels v Crusaders, AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Glen Jackson
AR1: Paul Williams
AR2: Damon Murphy
TMO: George Ayoub
Bulls v Hurricanes, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Egon Seconds
AR1: Quinton Immelman
AR2: Jaco Pretorius
TMO: Christie du Preez
Sharks v Stormers, Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Marius ven der Westhuizen
AR1: AJ Jacobs
AR2: Archie Sehlako
TMO: Marius Jonker
Jaguares v Brumbies, Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
Referee: Mike Fraser
AR1: Federico Anselmi
AR2: Jose Covasi
TMO: Santiago Borsani
Sunday
Lions v Kings, Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Jaco Peyper
AR1: Egon Seconds
AR2: Ben Crouse
TMO: Christie du Preez