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Referee Angus Gardner has withdrawn from the South Africa vs Ireland series
By Ian Cameron
Australian official Angus Gardner has withdrawn from refereeing duties during the South Africa versus Ireland series for 'personal reasons'.
He will be replaced by England's Luke Pearce as match day referee for the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on July 6th and as AR for the second Test at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban the following weekend.
A World Rugby statement on the matter reads: "World Rugby has confirmed that Angus Gardner (Australia) has withdrawn from officiating duties for the two-test series between South Africa and Ireland for personal reasons. The Australian will be replaced by Luke Pearce (England) as referee for the first test and also as assistant referee for the second test.
"As a consequence of the change, there are also further amendments to the appointments, including Christophe Ridley (England), replacing Pearce as assistant referee for Japan v Georgia on 13 July."
Gardner began officiating in Super Rugby in 2012. Gardner made his Test debut in 2011, officiating a match between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. He has since refereed numerous international matches, including fixtures in the Rugby Championship and Six Nations. Gardner was named World Rugby Referee of the Year in 2018. He has officiated at three Rugby World Cups, in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
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Latest Comments
I agree.
I’d like to know what constitutes a 208 week ban though?
Must the eyeball be dislodged? Hanging by a vein?
Go to commentsAlso a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.
I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.
I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.
Go to comments