Johannesburg - South African Jaco Peyper was on Tuesday named as referee for the Lions' semi-final Super Rugby showdown against the Highlanders at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Another top SA referee Craig Joubert was unavailable as he is preparing to officiate in the Olympic Sevens tournament in Rio. SANZAAR also announced that Australian Angus Gardner will referee the first semi-final between the Hurricanes and the Chiefs in Wellington.
Last weekend, Gardner infuriated Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham whose team were beaten 15-9 by the Highlanders in their quarter-final, claiming they should have won.
Larkham has argued the Brumbies should have been given a scrum penalty near the posts in the last few minutes and also should have been awarded a try when replacement winger Lausii Taliauli went over in the 75th minute, although the TMO's replays showed no sign of the ball being grounded over the line.
“It was clearly a try for everyone who saw it,” Larkham said after the match. It's really disappointing that a game comes down to that. We should be in the semifinals right now.”
African News Agency