Australian referee Angus Gardner has withdrawn from officiating the Springboks' test series with Ireland for personal reasons and will now be replaced by English referee Luke Pearce, World Rugby said on Monday.
No further reasons were given, but the move has necessitated an entire shift of referees across the international July window to accommodate the change.
“World Rugby has confirmed that Angus Gardner (Australia) has withdrawn from officiating duties for the two-test series between South Africa and Ireland for personal reasons. The Australian will be replaced by Luke Pearce (England) as referee for the first test and also as assistant referee for the second test,” a statement said.
“As a consequence of the change, there are also further amendments to the appointments, including Christophe Ridley (England), replacing Pearce as assistant referee for Japan v Georgia on 13 July.”
Referees for Springboks’ first three tests:
South Africa v Ireland - Saturday, 6 July 2024
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
South Africa v Ireland - Saturday, 13 July, 2024
Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
South Africa v Portugal - Saturday, 20 July, 2024
Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)