Teams should be allowed to play however they want, says URC ref boss Tappe Henning

Cape Town — In what will hopefully solve a lot of issues for South African teams with regards to refereeing interpretations, the United Rugby Championship head of referees, Tappe Henning, will spend time with the match officials in Mzansi for the next block of games in March.

Henning spent many years as a referee in South Africa before moving to Scotland as that country’s referee commissioner.

The 60-year-old was appointed as the URC referees boss in December, and the governing body announced on Thursday that there will be neutral referees in the games that will be played between South African and European teams next month.

After all four SA teams complete a week-long trip overseas next week, they will enjoy another bye before getting back on to the field.

On March 11, the Sharks will host the Scarlets in Durban, and the next day, the Bulls welcome Munster to Pretoria. On March 13, the Lions take on Cardiff in Johannesburg and the Stormers face Zebre in Stellenbosch.

The following weekend, the Bulls and Cardiff square off at Loftus Versfeld, the Lions and Munster are at Ellis Park, the Sharks and Zebre at Kings Park and the Stormers and Cardiff at Cape Town Stadium.

On the final weekend of March, the Lions take on Ospreys, Stormers face Ulster, the Sharks tackle Edinburgh and the Bulls will hope to see off the Dragons.

Then there’s one more round on the first weekend in April – Sharks v Dragons, Bulls v Ulster, Lions v Edinburgh and Stormers v Ospreys.

“The two biggest drivers in referee appointments are neutrality and merit, and a balance needs to be found between the two,” Henning said in a statement.

“Preparation for a tournament is always hugely important, and if one thinks back, the SA teams played Currie Cup semis