South African referee Jaco Peyper will take charge of the Stormers’ clash with the Blues at Newlands on Saturday.
The six-match round five kicks-off in Dunedin on Friday when the Highlanders return home to face the Melbourne Rebels, where Paul Williams will be the referee. The second match of the day will have Angus Gardner in charge in Sydney as the Lions get their Australasian tour under way against the winless Waratahs, with both teams fresh off a bye.
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There are four matches on Saturday with Federico Anselmi the man in the middle for the clash between the Hurricanes and Sunwolves at McLean Park in Napier. Brendon Pickerill will take charge of the Sharks’ final match on tour when they face the Reds in Brisbane.
The only team yet to be defeated this season, the Stormers, then welcome the Blues to Newlands with Jaco Peyper in the middle. Round five action again concludes in Pretoria this week, where the winless Vodacom Bulls will hope to bounce back form their heartbreaking loss to the Blues with a victory over the Jaguares. New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe will wield the whistle at Loftus Versfeld.
Rasta Rasivhenge has noticeably been omitted from this weekend’s officiating panel, after receiving criticism for several decisions during last weekend’s encounter between the Stormers and Jaguares at Newlands. Marius van der Westhuizen, who also copped flack following the Blues’ victory over the Bulls at Loftus last weekend, has been appointed as an assistant to O’Keefe for the match in Pretoria this weekend.
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WARATAHS vs LIONS (Sydney, Friday, 10:15am)
Referee: Angus Gardner (AUS)
Assistants: Jordan Way, James Quinn (AUS)
TMO: Ian Smith (AUS)
REDS vs SHARKS (Brisbane, Saturday, 10:15am)
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
Assistants: Graham Cooper, Jordan Way (AUS)
TMO: James Leckie (AUS)
STORMERS vs BLUES (Newlands, Saturday, 3:05pm)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SA)
Assistants: Marius van der Westhuizen, Divan Uys (SA)
TMO: Joey Klaaste-Salmans (SA)
VODACOM BULLS vs JAGUARES (Loftus Versfeld, Saturday, 5:15pm)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
Assistants: AJ Jacobs, Griffin Colby (SA)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images
