South African referee Jaco van Heerden has been promoted to the Vodacom Super Rugby panel.

The Pretoria-born advocate will join local referees Stuart Berry, Jason Jaftha, Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper and Marius van der Westhuizen on the panel of 16 match officials for the competition starting on Friday, 13 February.

Van Heerden, who officiated the Currie Cup semi-final between the Golden Lions and Sharks in Johannesburg last year only a few months after making his debut as a referee in the competition, is one of two new faces on the panel. The other is New Zealand’s Ben O'Keeffe.

Super Rugby match officials – South Africa: Stuart Berry, Jason Jaftha, Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper, Marius van der Westhuizen, Jaco van Heerden; Australia: Angus Gardner, Rohan Hoffmann, Andrew Lees, Matt O'Brien; New Zealand: Nick Briant, Mike Fraser, Glen Jackson, Ben O'Keeffe, Chris Pollock.

Photo: Gavin Barker/Backpagepix