British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland was left fuming that there could be no neutral TMO for Saturday’s series opener against South Africa.
New Zealand’s Brendon Pickerill was forced to withdraw due to pandemic-related travel issues.
The Lions are understood to be pushing governing body World Rugby to appoint a neutral TMO for the second and third Tests of the series.
World Rugby used ‘home’ TMOs in last year’s Rugby Championship, but a referee would not officiate in a match involving their own country.
MATCH OFFICIALS FOR THE THREE TESTS:
FIRST TEST:
| South Africa v British and Irish Lions Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Saturday, 24 July, 2021 | Referee: Nic Berry (RA) Assistant Referee 1: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referee 2: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) TMO: Marius Jonker (SA) |
SECOND TEST:
| South Africa v British and Irish Lions FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Saturday, 31 July, 2021 | Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA) Assistant Referee 2: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) TMO: Marius Jonker (SA) |
THIRD TEST:
| South Africa v British and Irish Lions Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg Saturday, 7 August, 2021 | Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) Assistant Referee 1: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR) Assistant Referee 2: Nic Berry (RA) TMO: Marius Jonker (SA) |
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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