OH NO! Bryce Lawrence to referee Bok quarter-final

Sport staff and Reuters | 03 October, 2011 08:380 Comments

Australia v Ireland - IRB RWC 2011 Match 16

James Horwill of the Wallabies tosses the match coin as Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland and referee Bryce Lawrence look on ahead during the IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C match between Australia and Ireland at Eden Park on September 17, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand
Image by: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

Save & Share

Talk about a neutral referee. New Zealand's Bryce Lawrence, the whistle-blower who SA and Australian fans love to hate, will blow the quarter-final between the Springboks and the Wallabies on Sunday.

Lawrence has come in for flak for his handling of South African and Australian teams in the past.

In the Super 15, for example, he was criticised for penalising the Sharks for a supposed scrum infringement before their pack had even engaged the Crusaders'.

And Aussie fans were unimpressed for the way he policed the scrums in their team's pool defeat against Irealnd.

Meanwhile, Craig Joubert of South Africa will referee the Ireland v Wales contest on Saturday morning.

Referees for the upcoming quarter-finals are:

QF 1, Oct 8 — Ireland v Wales, Wellington

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

QF 2, Oct 8 — England v France, Auckland

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

QF 3, Oct 9 — South Africa v Australia, Wellington

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

OF 4, Oct 9 — New Zealand v Argentina, Auckland (0730)

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)