Stuart Berry has been named referee for the final of the PRO14 between Leinster and Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
The South African will lead a team of neutral match officials for the match, with Marius Mitrea (Italy) and Mike Adamson (Scotland) appointed as Assistant Referees, while Neil Paterson (Scotland) will serve as the Television Match Official.
Berry, who became the first South African to referee in a major play-off match in Northern Hemisphere club rugby when he took charge of last weekend’s semi-final between Leinster and Munster, joined the PRO14 Elite Referee Squad from Super Rugby after the tournament expanded into South Africa last year.
Apart from his 13 appearances in the PRO14 this season, Berry has also refereed 26 Super Rugby matches and 11 Tests. He made his debut at this level in the third round match between Ospreys and Munster.
Greg Garner, Elite Referee Manager of the PRO14 said: “These appointments are a significant step for the Guinness PRO14 in that we can balance the need for neutral officials with capability for our showpiece game.
“Stuart has refereed 13 games in the Championship this season which adds to his experience in Super Rugby and at international level.
“We have a number of goals when it comes to our match officials and creating a deeper pool of talent that extends across Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales is one of the top priorities. The addition of South African referees to the Guinness PRO14 has provided us with a broader roster to select from and allowed us to name an all-neutral panel of match officials for this weekend.
“It’s very satisfying that in all six Guinness PRO14 Final Series games we have appointed fully neutral match official teams because in the past in the past referees have been brought in from England and France to officiate the Championship decider.
“In fact, only one referee appointment in the past eight Finals has been non-neutral. Stuart’s selection is great news because he is used to the style of play in the Guinness PRO14 and will be more familiar with our Finalist teams.”
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