Watson set for Final record

Veldsman, Lawrence get the semi-finals

André Watson, one of the top referees in the world and South Africa's most experienced match official, is set to take charge of a record seventh Currie Cup Final on October 23. This became evident when the match officials for the semi-finals, to be played on Saturday, were revealed on Monday.

It was announced that Shaun Veldsman and Mark Lawrence would be the referees in the semi-finals - with Veldsman in charge of the encounter between the Blue Bulls and the Lions at Loftus in Pretoria, while Lawrence will have the whistle when Western Province face the Cheetahs at Newlands in Cape Town.

This means that Watson and South Africa's second most experienced referee, Jonathan Kaplan, are in the running for the Final.

It would be a major surprise if Watson is not given the Final, since he has already retired from international rugby and would soon be thinking about giving up his whistle altogether.

In fact a record seventh Currie Cup Final could be the perfect swan song.

Watson currently share the record for Currie Cup finals with Steve Strydom - both on six appearances. Freek Burger, the general manager of referees at SA Rugby, is next best at five finals.

The referee appointments for this weekend's semi-final fixtures in the Currie Cup Premier Division and First Division are:

Premier Division:

Saturday, October 16:

Blue Bulls v Lions, Securicor Loftus, 15.00 (13.00 GMT):
Referee: Shaun Veldsman
Touch Judges: Andre Watson and Eugene Daniels

Western Province v Cheetahs, Newlands, 17.00 (15.00 GMT):
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Touch Judges: Tappe Henning and Jonathan Kaplan

First Division:

Friday, October 15:

Bulldogs v Leopards, ABSA Stadium (East London), 19.10 (17.10 GMT):
Referee: Andy Turner
Touch Judges: Johan Meuwesen and Chris du Preez

Saturday, October 16:

Boland Cavaliers v Falcons, Boland Stadium (Wellington), 15.30 (13.30 GMT):
Referee: JC Fortuin
Touch Judges: Louis Mzomba and Gareth Lloyd-Jones

By Jan de Koning