World Rugby has made a late refereeing change for this weekend's second Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Cape Town. Georgian official Nika Amashukeli, originally appointed to referee the clash at DHL Stadium, has not recovered from illness.
Australian Angus Gardner, who was due to serve as one of the assistant referees, will now take charge of the match. Gardner refereed New Zealand's midweek win over the Lions on Tuesday.
Officials reshuffle for Cape Town Test
Fellow Australian Brett Cronan will serve as Television Match Official, while France's Eric Gauzins becomes Foul Play Review Officer, with the pair swapping roles from the original plan. Scotland's Sam Grove-White replaces Gardner as an assistant referee alongside England's Karl Dickson.
Amashukeli will instead referee the third Test of the Greatest Rivalry series in Johannesburg on September 5, with Gardner as his assistant that day. Cronan and Gauzins will again swap roles.
Pressure on officials after first Test
The match already carried pressure on officials after last week's result. The All Blacks' 33-16 victory at Ellis Park ended South Africa's 12-match winning run, and last week's referee Matthew Carley faced criticism from some South African pundits and former players.
Springbok legend Victor Matfield questioned four or five crucial decisions made by Carley during the first Test.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus had spoken this week about how World Rugby's protocols requiring both head coaches to be present had made meeting match referees largely redundant. "In my opinion, it's impossible to discuss something with the referee with the other coach present," Erasmus said on Tuesday.
"I'm going to say, 'Listen, we are concerned about this in the scrums,' and he's going to say, 'But we do this in the scrums.'" Erasmus added that it was "almost impossible" to have meaningful discussions under such conditions, noting he and All Blacks coach Dave had planned to catch up for a beer in Cape Town on Friday, but without the referee.
Updated officials for second Test
The updated officials for the second Test are: Referee Angus Gardner (Australia), Assistant Referee 1 Karl Dickson (England), Assistant Referee 2 Sam Grove-White (Scotland), TMO Brett Cronan (Australia), and FPRO Eric Gauzins (France).
