Johannesburg - Six South Africans were on Wednesday named among an 18-man strong referee team for the 2013 Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
Jason Jaftha will make his Super Rugby debut as part of a South African group that also includes Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Jonathan Kaplan, Lourens van der Merwe and Stuart Berry.
Jaftha is one of five newcomers to the list which also included Argentinean Francisco Pastrana, who controlled his first Super Rugby match in 2012.
“The recent form of some of our referees in the Test environment has given us an excellent senior group within the team, and we have been able to include a healthy number of young referees,” said Lyndon Bray, Sanzar game manager.
“They have been selected with an eye to the future, both for Super Rugby and Test rugby.”
Australia's James Leckie has been recalled to the squad, while Rohan Hoffman, Jaftha and Nick Briant from New Zealand get their first taste of Super Rugby with their selections.
“Along with the five new referees introduced to Super Rugby in 2012, we have a very strong nucleus of younger referees, blended with some of the best in the world at the top of their game.”
Super Rugby referee team: Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Jonathan Kaplan, Lourens van der Merwe, Stuart Berry, Jason Jaftha (South Africa), Chris Pollock, Glen Jackson, Garratt Williamson, Jonathon White, Mike Fraser, Nick Briant (New Zealand), Steve Walsh, Andrew Lees, Angus Gardner, James Leckie, Rohan Hoffman (Australia), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina).
Sapa