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Who is van der Westhuizen and why is he officiating the game of the week?

21st May, 2015
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Jaco Peyper is never too far from controversy. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Expert
21st May, 2015
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Yesterday, Spiro Zavos wrote ‘Rugby needs better refereeing, not more referees’. Spiro was answering Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham’s ridiculous suggestion rugby should follow the NRL’s two-refs per game policy.

This season the Super Rugby refereeing standard has been woeful, which hasn’t been helped by some of SANZAR’s appointments.

There is no better example than South African Marius van der Westhuizen being appointed to the biggest and most important clash of the round, between the defending champion Waratahs and the seven-times champion Crusaders.

The 31-year-old Van der Westhuizen has been around Super Rugby for five minutes, for SANZAR to put him in charge of such an important game shows a lack of respect for both teams.

Is Craig Joubert on his deathbed? He hasn’t been appointed to any game this week, while Jaco Peyper has a touchline flag for the Cheetahs versus Lions game at Bloemfontein.

This is the replay of last year’s Super Rugby final, won by the Waratahs thanks to a long-range Bernard Foley penalty in the shadow of full-time to sneak home by a point. It deserves the experience of either Joubert or Peyper.

Furthermore, the Waratahs must win to take over the Australian conference lead from the Brumbies, who have a bye, while the Crusaders must win to stay in touch with the top six. A loss to either side will be critical, and the last thing they would want is for the game to be decided due to the inexperienced Van der Westhuizen having a touch of the panics.

To give SANZAR some credit, they dumped Rohan Hoffman to touch judge status this week after his appalling display in the Waratahs versus Sharks game last weekend.

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There’s no better example of how the refereeing standard has slipped than the appointment of the 12 whistlers for the Rugby World Cup:

Jerome Garces, Romain Porte, and Pascal Gauzere (France), Chris Pollock and Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Wayne Barnes and Dublin-born JP Doyle (England), Joubert and Peyper (South Africa), George Clancy and John Lacey (Ireland).

There’s just one ref from Wales, Nigel Owens – who just happens to be the best of the lot. Owens has a great respect for the players, and they have great respect for him in return; it’s the perfect combination.

With Wales highly unlikely to make the Rugby World Cup final, Owens is odds-on to get the gig. That would be poetic justice.

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