Australian referee withdraws from SA v Ireland series

NEWS: Australian official Angus Gardner has withdrawn from his refereeing duties during the South Africa versus Ireland series for ‘personal reasons’.

He will be replaced by England’s Luke Pearce as matchday referee for the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on July 6 and as assistant referee for the second Test at Kings Park the following weekend.

A statement from World Rugby on the matter reads: “World Rugby has confirmed that Angus Gardner (Australia) has withdrawn from his official duties for the two-Test series between South Africa and Ireland for personal reasons.

“The Australian will be replaced by Luke Pearce (England) as referee for the first test and also as assistant referee for the second test.

“As a result of the change, there are also further changes to appointments, including Christophe Ridley (England) replacing Pearce as assistant referee for Japan versus Georgia on July 13.”

Gardner started refereeing in Super Rugby in 2012.

He made his Test debut in 2011, officiating a match between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

Gardner has since refereed numerous international matches, including Rugby Championship and Six Nations matches.

He was named World Rugby Referee of the Year in 2018 and has competed in three World Cups: 2015, 2019 and 2023.

Match official for SA v Ireland

Saturday July 6
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Saturday July 13
Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

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