The widely criticised officials from the Sharks-Waratahs clash will not play a central role in this weekend’s round of Super Rugby, with Sanzar taking action on poor officiating.
Referee Rohan Hoffmann, who made a host of dubious decisions, will only act as an assistant referee in this Saturday’s match between the Force and Highlanders, while TMO George Ayoub has been stood down completely.
Ayoub made two contentious decisions in Sydney, awarding one questionable try to Waratahs wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, while he disallowed what appeared to be a legitimate try to Sharks winger S’bura Sithole.
Another TMO, Vinny Munro, who missed a match-defining infringement from the Hurricanes in the final act of their game against the Chiefs, will also play no part in this weekend’s round of fixtures.
Sanzar Game Manager Lyndon Bray admitted that some basic standards had simply not been upheld this past weekend, “resulting in some disappointing decisions and selection consequences”.
“A thorough and robust system is in place whereby the development and performance of each match official is reviewed by Sanzar and its member unions on a daily basis and like any athlete participating in elite competition, our referees are accountable to performance levels for the competition,” he explained.
“Public confidence in match officials is essential to the ongoing success of our product and we will continue striving to enhance the quality and accountability of refereeing across all Sanzar competitions,” Bray added.
After Saturday’s clash in Sydney, Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold called for consistency and competency from officials, but also praised Bray for the work he was doing behind the scenes.
And when it was suggested on Twitter that Sharks chief executive John Smit put in an official complaint, he responded by saying he was sure the Sanzar leadership was strong enough to do something before they needed to enquire.
In this regard, Smit will have been pleased to see Sanzar taking the first steps in enforcing action against the officials who performed so poorly over the weekend.