Two referees relieved of duties in Super Rugby after another weekend of inconsistent officiating

CONTROVERSIAL referee Stuart Berry’s whistle won’t be heard for a fortnight - but it’s two other officials who have been stood down by SANZAR.

SANZAR has reviewed its refereeing appointments after a second weekend of Super Rugby action was overshadowed by inconsistent decision-making.

Lourens van der Merwe and Francisco Pastrana have been replaced by Steve Walsh and Nick Briant for round seven respectively.

Van der Merwe has been stripped of controlling this Saturday’s Blues-Highlanders clash in Auckland while Pastrana has been replaced for Friday night’s Crusaders-Hurricanes game in Christchurch.

The man responsible for much of the ill-feeling towards the officials, Stuart Berry, had no appointments for rounds seven and eight.

Berry oversaw a 17-4 penalty count in the Lions-Reds clash in Johannesburg, prompting a backlash on social media from irate Queensland fans.

SANZAR referees boss said officials would continue to be monitored and those who didn’t perform would be relieved from duty.

Stuart Berry had no refereeing appointments slated for rounds seven and eight.

“One of our core strategic objectives is to grow the depth of the team that is able to referee ‘any game, any time,” Bray said in a statement.

“In line with this, we have reduced the size of the team heading into the next phase of the competition and in doing so, have recognised who has performed to expectation and who has not.

“The aim is to give this smaller pool of referees more game time so when it comes to the Finals Series, there’s a great deal of pressure around who will earn those highly sought after appointments and from a Super Rugby perspective, that the competition is getting a consistent high standard of refereeing.”