Rasivhenge and Immelman added to Super Rugby referee panel

South African Rugby have announced the inclusion of Rasta Rasivhenge and Quinton Immelman, on the match official panel. That will bring the number of South African referees on the panel to seven.

“The inclusion of Rasta and Quinton on the Super Rugby panel is just reward for the hard work they have been putting in over the last few years and I can’t wait to see them make their debut in the best provincial competition in the world,” said Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s General Manager: Rugby.

“We’ve always produced referees of the highest calibre and the Super Rugby panel is further proof of that. Craig and Jaco are two of the most experienced referees in the world and will raise the bar even further this year, while Stuart, Marius and Jaco are three of the best up-and-coming match officials in the game."

The full group of Super Rugby referees met at the International College of Management in Manly for a five-day camp that included a comprehensive briefing around a number of variations that are set to be introduced for the 2016 season.

“The 2016 referee squad contains 22 members, of which nine are in line to make their first appearance at this level, including Federico Anselmi and Shuhei Kubo of Argentina and Japan respectively,” said SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos,

“It was important for me to meet with the men who play a big role in the product that Super Rugby is and to share with them the business and rugby imperatives that we have.”

2016 Super Rugby Referees:

Federico Anselmi (Argentina - 0 Super Rugby, 7 Tests)*

Nic Berry (Australia - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Stuart Berry (South Africa - 21 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)

Nick Briant (New Zealand - 25 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)

Mike Fraser (New Zealand - 23 Super Rugby, 4 Tests)

Angus Gardner (Australia - 26 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)

Rohan Hoffman (Australia - 26 Super Rugby, 3 Tests)

William Houston (Australia - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Quinton Immelman (South Africa - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Glen Jackson (New Zealand- 41 Super Rugby, 16 Tests)

Craig Joubert (South Africa - 93 Super Rugby, 64 Tests)

Shuhei Kubo (Japan - 0 Super Rugby, 6 Tests)*

Andrew Lees (Australia - 22 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)

Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand - 5 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)

Jaco Peyper (South Africa - 59 Super Rugby, 29 Tests)

Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Chris Pollock (New Zealand - 70 Super Rugby, 22 Tests)

Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa - 9 Super Rugby, 1 Test)

Jaco van Heerden (South Africa - 6 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)

Paul Williams (New Zealand - 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*

* Denotes a new squad member in 2016