Englishman Wayne Barnes to referee Air NZ Cup match

English International referee Wayne Barnes will whistle the Air New Zealand Cup match between Wellington and Southland, in the Capital on Thursday, 24 September 2009, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) confirmed today.

NZRU High Performance Referee Manager Lyndon Bray welcomed Wayne Barnes’ participation as a great opportunity.

“Wayne Barnes will be in New Zealand as an assistant referee for the All Blacks Tests against South Africa in Hamilton on Saturday and, against Australia in Wellington next weekend. This gave us a great opportunity to allow Wayne to referee in our Air New Zealand Cup.

“Australia’s Nathan Pearce refereed the Taranaki v Hawke’s Bay game in New Plymouth three weeks ago. That helps ensure better co-operation and more exposure for referees working towards Super 14 selection,” Mr Bray said.

“This level of co-operation between countries will hopefully help leverage for New Zealand referees to have opportunities in England, and possibly see swaps between the European Cup and Super 14, within the foreseeable future,” Mr Bray said.

Other referee appointments: Australia’s Andrew Lees will referee the Tasman v Waikato match in Blenheim this Friday, and fellow Australian Nathan Pearce referees Bay of Plenty v Tasman, at Mt Maunganui, on Thursday, 17 September.