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English referees appointed for both All Blacks vs Springboks games
World Rugby have named the referees for the remaining 2021 Rugby Championship matches which will be played in Australia next month, starting with the September 5 meeting of the Wallabies and the All Blacks in Perth which will see Australian Damon Murphy make his debut in the Championship fresh from taking charge of the gold medal men’s sevens match featuring Fiji at the Olympics in Tokyo.
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While the Wallabies versus All Blacks game was originally pencilled to take place in Western Australia, it was only decided at the top of this week to also stage the other eight remaining fixtures in the tournament in Australia with the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast for a second time staging double-headers across four successive weekends.
The most eagerly awaited match-ups are the two meetings featuring the All Blacks versus the Springboks, the 2019 World Cup winners who have flown out to Australia on Thursday fresh from their Test series victory over the Lions which they followed with two Championship wins over Argentina. With South Africa opting out of last year’s Australian-held Championship, the age-old rivals have not clashed since the September 2019 World Cup pool match in Japan, a game that was won by the All Blacks.
World Rugby have decided to appoint English referees for the renewal of this ancient rivalry with Luke Pearce on the whistle in Townsville on September 25 for the 100th All Blacks versus Springboks Test match followed by Matthew Carley taking charge of the following weekend’s rematch on the Gold Coast.
Carley, who hasn’t previously refereed in the Championship, will referee a total of three matches. He will make his bow in the tournament on September 18 when Australia play South Africa in Brisbane and he will also be in charge when the Wallabies play Argentina the following week in Townsville. Meanwhile, Pearce will also referee the September 12 meeting of South Africa-Australia, meaning English referees have been appointed for five of the remaining nine games in the Championship.
Rassie Erasmus is being egged on by a former Springboks coachhttps://t.co/l5sSQ0E5AK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 24, 2021
The Championship fixtures will also see under-fire Nic Berry back on the Test match whistle after finding himself controversially on the receiving end of much criticism from SA Rugby director Rassie Erasmus following the July 24 first Test loss by the Springboks to the Lions in Cape Town. Berry will take charge of the All Blacks versus Argentina match on the Gold Coast on September 12. Meanwhile, South African Jaco Peyper has been handed two Argentina refereeing assignments, taking charge of their matches against New Zealand in Brisbane and versus Australia on the Gold Coast.
UPDATED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Round One – August 14
New Zealand 57 Australia 22 (Auckland)
Springboks 32 Argentina 12 (Port Elizabeth)
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Round Two – August 21
Argentina 10 Springboks 29 (Port Elizabeth)
September 5: Australia v New Zealand (Perth – Damon Murphy, RA))
Round Three – September 12 (Gold Coast)
New Zealand v Argentina (Nic Berry, RA)
Springboks v Australia (Luke Pearce (RFU)
Round Four – September 18 (Brisbane)
Argentina v New Zealand (Jaco Peyper, SARU)
Australia v Springboks (Matthew Carley, RFU)
Round Five – September 25 (Townsville)
New Zealand v Springboks (Luke Pearce, RFU)
Australia v Argentina (Matthew Carley, RFU)
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Round Six – October 2 (Gold Coast)
Springboks v New Zealand (Matthew Carley, RFU)
Argentina v Australia (Jaco Peyper, SARU)
It's finally here ?
The Season – Brisbane Boys College – Episode 1 https://t.co/nNeVp2MbAt pic.twitter.com/AZBQO2hn8u
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 22, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
He never stops whinging. No wonder he is always chasing the next big dream.
1 Go to commentsI always enjoy a good scrum based article. Thanks, Nick. The Hurricanes are looking more and more the team to beat down here in Australasia. They are a very well balanced team. And though there are far fewer scrums in the game these days, destructive power in that area is a serious weapon, especially an attacking scrum within in the red zone. Aumua looked very good as a young first year player, but then seemed to fade. He sure is back now right in the picture for the AB’s. And I would judge that Taukei’aho is in a bit of a slump currently. Watching him at Suncorp a few weeks ago, I thought he was not as dominant in the game as I would have expected. I am going to raise an issue in that scrum at around the 13 min mark. I see a high level of danger there for the TH lifted off the ground. He is trapped between the opposition LH and his own powerful SR. His neck is being put under potentially dangerous pressure. The LH has, in law , no right to use his superior scrummaging skill….getting his head right in on the breastbone of the TH…..to force him up and off the ground. Had the TH popped out of the scrum, head up and free, there is no danger, that is a clear penalty to the dominant scrum. The law is quite clear on this issue: Law 37 Dangerous play and restricted practices in a scrum. C:Intentionally lifting an opponent off their feet or forcing them upwards out of the scrum. Sanction: Penalty. Few ,if any, referees seem to be aware of this law, and/or the dangers of the situation. Matthew Carly, refereeing Clermont v Munster in 2021, penalised the Munster scrum, when LH Wycherly was lifted very high, and in my view very dangerously, by TH Slimani. Lifting was coached in the late ‘60’s/70’s. Both Lions props, Ray McLouglin, and “Mighty Mouse” McLauchlan, were expert and highly successful at this technique. I have seen a photo, which I can’t find online atm, of MM with a NZ TH(not an AB) on his head, MM standing upright as the scrum disintegrates.
3 Go to commentsHey. Stay home and play for Mooloo.
1 Go to commentsTighthead was always going to be our weakness this year with Ryan going home to Ireland and the Cashed Up Blues taking a third All Black prop from us - nobody else in SR does that. Numia is the exciting one. He used to be a lightweight but he's really improved. Do you have stats on the All Black hookers’ lineouts for the game? I seem to remember a few misses.
3 Go to commentsFergus Burke isn't tier 1 player quality…but guess what, he'll be playing amongst them for Saracens…. all going well and Steve Borthwick is still the head coach, England...Scott Robertson’s hint of amending NZRU’s offshore AB eligibility clause, would mean that players like Josh Moorby who show potential might get a call…
4 Go to commentsThe movement of quality players back to SA is remarkable.
2 Go to commentsInteresting article, Nic. Am enjoying seeing the Rebels doing well, partly just to spite those who are working to wipe them off the face of the Australian rugby planet. But it is also good to see a team with somany good players beginning fire. LSL has benefitted so much from his move up to Northampton for the one year. I wonder why he did not stay on for another year. Does he now looks north and see his teammates of last year now doing so well, and have some regrets.
46 Go to comments“Over 80% of the World Cup squad are over 30” No it isn’t lol
2 Go to commentsTyrel Lomax the best AB prop since Carl Hayman. Absolutely destroyed the Boks in RWC Final and is monstering allcomers in Super this season. Should be a monster battle vs touring Poms, always deliver a power pack.
3 Go to commentsEye gouging seems like such a strong term for what can only be described as a poke in the eye. When I think of eye gouging I think of someone trying to intentionally pop someone’s eyeball out. it’s like calling a high-tackle attempted decapitation.
3 Go to commentsGreat article. No insights to add, just wanted to say that. :)
1 Go to commentsLeinster are going to win the world cup.
13 Go to commentsSuper Rugby desperately needs to lose at least 2, but up to 4 teams. Rebels quietly going bankrupt would have made that a bit easier. Teams like the Rebels and Force serve only to weaken Australian Rugby and Super Rugby more widely. In 13 years in the comp the Rebels are yet to win more games than they lose in a season, have never finished in the top half of the competition, and have come dead last a number of times. The Western Force, barring a brief stint of mediocrity under John Mitchell from 2007-2009 have been even worse. Sadly it’s hard to see a future for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. Likewise I think the writing is on the wall for the Highlanders, it’s hard to see how NZ rugby can continue to support 5 SR teams, and population distribution suggests one team in the south island would make the most sense.
46 Go to commentsNice that Connor Evans is happy to stay on here, that JD Schikerling is returning and Steven Kitshoff. Dobbo is careful to bring back just anybody but having a new financial lease of life, it has made the Stormers a more attractive club. On top of being good quality, having the financial backing helps a lot
1 Go to commentsEngland-qualified too, I believe.
1 Go to commentsThis might turn out to be emblematic of a real issue in Irish rugby. Ireland have one of the best -if not the best - senior sides in the world, and one of the best under 20s sides as well, but don’t seem to be giving graduating under20s players many opportunities to break through into URC starting lineups. There is a risk that a lot of the junior talent they are developing will either be wasted, or lost to other nations.
1 Go to commentsYou ask good questions, Nick. The group who have put together the proposal to play out of Tarneit and participate in the growing of the ground’s capacity are not a bunch of white knights who have been dragged in post-crisis; they were around whilst the Rebels accummulated $23m in debt. Why do we come up with ideas that might make the franchise affordable after it’s broke and not when it might have prevented the trainwreck this offseason was? As for Gordon/Kellaway v Lolesio/Wright, they are both good options. I think the former are better rugby players but the goal kicking of Noah may be decisive when Schmiddy makes his choices. I know Harry Jones has the hots for Edmed but I think it’s one of his few poor choices and he and Jorgensen aren’t close to the other pairs. By coincidence, the wife and I went into town over the weekend to watch Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson in Long Day’s Journey into Night. Beautifully acted but it was 3.5 hours in the chair and very hard work. Like the Rebels, there were only small bursts of joy to go with a lot of bad news and a depressing story line. In the end, I was hoping it would end and I could give my sore butt a break. Again, familiar.
46 Go to commentsGood decision, very good player but not international quality. But so was Jamison Gibson Park …..
4 Go to commentsLoose forwards always look good going forward and winning. It’s the same loose forwards for the Crusaders and the Canes this year as last year. Too much of the shiny new things getting noticed here while older consistent ones getting bagged. It’s early days. Calm the farm.
8 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and on the money. We tend to be apathetic until something REALLY BAD happens, then we aren't! At least this applies to the Reb players and coach, if not the spectators. They seem to be getting very quick ball at times. Have they altered something, or is it just all of the skills coming together at the right time? It seems almost the opposite of the Reds, who started the season with quick ball, but haven't been showing that in the last 3 losing games. Is it attitude (McDermott hasn't looked “right” to me for 3 weeks), or something else?
46 Go to comments