Referee change for RGR second Test as Nika Amashukeli pulled

There’s a late change to the original Emirates Match Official appointment for the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in South Africa.

Referee Nika Amashukeli will no longer take charge of the second Test in Cape Town, with Angus Gardner taking over the whistle in his place.

A World Rugby statement reads: “Angus Gardner will now referee this weekend’s test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town as Nika Amashukeli has not recovered from illness.

“Brett Cronan (Australia) will act as his Television Match Official with Eric Gauzins (France) becoming Foul Play Review Officer and Sam Grove-White (Scotland) replacing Gardner as an assistant referee.”

Amashukeli will now referee the third Test of the series in Johannesburg on 5 September, instead of Gardner, with Gauzins as his TMO, with the Australian official to act as his assistant referee.

The Springboks are looking to bounce back after getting convincingly beaten by the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last weekend.

Dave Rennie’s men defeated South Africa 33–16 in the opening Test, derailing a lot of local talk on the ground in SA of a Springboks victory in the opening contest.

Trailing 13–12 at half-time, the All Blacks overwhelmed the world champions after the break, scoring four unanswered tries. Will Jordan’s double, plus scores from Josh Moorby, Fabien Holland and Luke Jacobson, secured a memorable win for the tourists.

“When we reviewed the game on Monday, we felt we were very dominant throughout up until about the 60-minute mark, and we were just a bit inaccurate in a few departments,” said Rassie Erasmus after the game. “That’s what this week is for. Luckily in this competition we’ve still got three chances to keep going and get our game better.

“A lot of the things we asked the players to do, they did. The plan didn’t win the game for us, but it’s definitely also not the players who lost the game.

“I’m taking responsibility for some of the decisions we made. We’re a group, but I think it’s a relevant point to explain why we lost, and some of it falls more on me than on the players to be honest.”

Second Test:

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referee 1: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referee 2: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Thirt Test

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referee 1: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referee 2: Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
FPRO: Brett Cronan (Australia)