/ 19 December 2012

Match officials named for 2013 Super Rugby

The Vodacom Bulls celebrate after winning the Super 14 final against the Stormers in 2010.
The Vodacom Bulls celebrate after winning the Super 14 final against the Stormers in 2010.

This was announced on Wednesday.

Jason Jaftha will make his Super Rugby debut as part of a South African group that also includes Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Jonathan Kaplan, Lourens van der Merwe and Stuart Berry.

Jaftha is one of five newcomers to the list which also included Argentinean Francisco Pastrana, who controlled his first Super Rugby match in 2012.

"The recent form of some of our referees in the test environment has given us an excellent senior group within the team, and we have been able to include a healthy number of young referees," said Lyndon Bray, Sanzar game manager.

"They have been selected with an eye to the future, both for Super Rugby and test rugby."

Australia's James Leckie has been recalled to the squad, while Rohan Hoffman, Jaftha and Nick Briant from New Zealand get their first taste of Super Rugby with their selections.

"Along with the five new referees introduced to Super Rugby in 2012, we have a very strong nucleus of younger referees, blended with some of the best in the world at the top of their game."

The Super Rugby referee team include Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Jonathan Kaplan, Lourens van der Merwe, Stuart Berry, Jason Jaftha (South Africa), Chris Pollock, Glen Jackson, Garratt Williamson, Jonathon White, Mike Fraser, Nick Briant (New Zealand), Steve Walsh, Andrew Lees, Angus Gardner, James Leckie, Rohan Hoffman (Australia) and Francisco Pastrana (Argentina). – Sapa