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Gardner takes whistle for Super Rugby final
By Online Editors
SANZAAR has announced the referee appointment for the Super Rugby Final.
In line with match official selections for the tournament the selection of the match referees for the Finals Series have been merit-based and have included input from the team head coaches.
Angus Gardner has been appointed to referee the Super Rugby Final on Saturday 4 August. It is his maiden Super Rugby Final appointment and is reward for his high-quality performances throughout the season. The participating teams and the venue for the Final will be determined this weekend following the completion of the semi-finals.
The 33-year-old Australian referee made his Super Rugby debut in 2012 when he refereed the Reds against the Rebels in Brisbane. He is now one of the most experienced referees in Super Rugby. He has refereed 60 Super Rugby matches and in 2018 he has taken charge of 13 matches.
Gardner broke through at senior Test level in 2016 and during 2017 refereed in all the major Test match windows, including appointments in the 6 Nations and The Rugby Championship (TRC). He has refereed 13 Test matches and has been appointed to referee two TRC Tests this year - Argentina versus South Africa and South Africa versus New Zealand.
There are some fears among New Zealand fans of there being an Australian referee to officiate the final if the Waratahs were to proceed past the penultimate stage of the tournament. There has not been an Australian officiating a Super Rugby final since 1996 so this is quite a landmark for the country.
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Gardner has made quite the name for himself over the past few years as a straight-talking official who will even reverse decisions that he has made if players correctly challenge them. This has led to several famous incidents where players such as TJ Perenara and Aaron Smith have done exactly this, leading to some very entertaining content online.
The other match officials for the Final - assistant referees and television match official – will be announced next week following the completion of the semi-finals.
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Latest Comments
Were you shocked by Sexton trying to rip Barrett's head off when he scored that final try in that return game?
Sexton once again the beneficiary of incredible double standards. Some of the rules simply didn't apply to him. The referee even watched that replay about 5 times in slow motion to see if he grounded the ball. If an NZ player had made that tackle it would have been a yellow card.
Ireland led by Sexton were the biggest bunch of whingers to ever play the game. NZ's dislike of Ireland was not caused by losing to them, it was caused by the Irish players, commentators and media being such giant crybabies.
I genuinely think Ireland are the best team in the world, and I think they will beat the ABs on Friday, but they are by some distance the team I like the least, and I know many people, not just from NZ, who feel the same.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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