Cape Town - Rasta Rasivhenge’s years of excellent officiating on the sevens circuit has been rewarded after he was named on the 2016 Super Rugby referees panel on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old from Johannesburg went on a sabbatical in Australia in 2014, following reports of an apparent fallout with then-referees boss André Watson, who was fired from the South African Rugby Union (Saru) in July 2015 after a CCMA hearing on the basis of a grievance lodged against Watson by members of the referees department.
The CCMA found that Watson’s employment should be terminated as the allegations against him were proved. It related to his management style of the referees, and Watson admitted in a statement to using foul language and that his “management style in certain instances might reasonably be interpreted as dictatorial, strict and abrasive”.
Rasivhenge returned to South Africa for last year’s Currie Cup, and his impressive performances led to him creating history as he became the first black African to blow the whistle in a final, which was between the Golden Lions and Western Province at Ellis Park.
Now he will step up to the big stage of Super Rugby, and he will be joined by Quinton Immelman of Western Province, who has also worked his way through the ranks. The 34-year-old Immelman, from Somerset West, has been an assistant referee in Super Rugby before, and been in charge at all other levels such as Currie Cup and the old Vodacom Cup.
Rasivhenge and Immelman will swell the South African Super Rugby referee contingent to seven, with the others being Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Marius van der Westhuizen, Stuart Berry and Jaco van Heerden.
“The inclusion of Rasta and Quinton on the Super Rugby panel is just reward for the hard work they have been putting in over the last few years, and I can’t wait to see them make their debut in the best provincial competition in the world,” said Saru’s General Manager: Rugby, Rassie Erasmus.
“We’ve always produced referees of the highest calibre and the Super Rugby panel is further proof of that. Craig and Jaco are two of the most experienced referees in the world and will raise the bar even further this year, while Stuart, Marius and Jaco are three of the best up-and-coming match officials in the game.
“The work done by our very own Referees Department has not gone unnoticed and it’s great to know South Africa is still at the fore when it comes to producing the best match officials for world rugby.”
Apart from Rasivhenge and Immelman, there will be seven other new referees in the expanded 18-team Super Rugby competition this year, including Argentina’s Federico Anselmi and Shuhei Kubo of Japan.
The Super Rugby tournament starts on February 26 with a match between defending champions Highlanders against the Blues in Auckland.
2016 Super Rugby Referees:
Federico Anselmi (Argentina: 0 Super Rugby, 7 Tests)*
Nic Berry (Australia: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Stuart Berry (South Africa: 21 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)
Nick Briant (New Zealand: 25 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)
Mike Fraser (New Zealand: 23 Super Rugby, 4 Tests)
Angus Gardner (Australia: 26 Super Rugby, 5 Tests)
Rohan Hoffman (Australia: 26 Super Rugby, 3 Tests)
William Houston (Australia: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Quinton Immelman (South Africa: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Glen Jackson (New Zealand: 41 Super Rugby, 16 Tests)
Craig Joubert (South Africa: 93 Super Rugby, 64 Tests)
Shuhei Kubo (Japan: 0 Super Rugby, 6 Tests)*
Andrew Lees (Australia: 22 Super Rugby, 2 Tests)
Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand: 5 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)
Jaco Peyper (South Africa: 59 Super Rugby, 29 Tests)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Chris Pollock (New Zealand: 70 Super Rugby, 22 Tests)
Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa: 9 Super Rugby, 1 Test)
Jaco van Heerden (South Africa: 6 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)
Paul Williams (New Zealand: 0 Super Rugby, 0 Tests)*
* Denotes a new squad member in 2016