Irishman to referee all-South African Stormers v Bulls URC final

The match official appointments for the United Rugby Championship (URC) final have been confirmed, with Ireland’s Andrew Brace appointed as the referee for this weekend’s eagerly-awaited showdown between the Stormers and Bulls in Cape Town.

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Brace will be assisted by an all-South African trio of Jaco Peyper and AJ Jacobs, while Marius van der Westhuizen is the TMO.

It is the second time Brace has been handed the responsibility for the league decider having held the whistle for the 2021 PRO14 final between Leinster and Ulster in Dublin.

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Brace made his league debut in September 2015 when he took charge of the match between Cardiff and Zebre, and since then has gone to referee knock-out matches in the PRO14, EPCR Challenge Cup and the Heineken Champions Cup.

In 2018, the Irish official refereed his first Tier One Test (Argentina v Wales), he was then appointed as an assistant referee for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and shortly afterwards he made his Six Nations debut in 2020 (France v Italy).

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Fans will be hoping there’s no repeat of the shocking performance of Scotland’s Mike Adamson and his fellow match officials in the Stormers’ semi-final win over Ulster.

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United Rugby Championship final: Stormers v Bulls

Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

SA time: 19:30

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (SA), AJ Jacobs (SA)

TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)

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