It's Treu - coach thrilled with ref
Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:45
Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu has welcomed the recent appointment of Keith Lawrence as the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens Referees Manager and believes that the appointment will ultimately benefit all teams participating in the IRB Sevens World Series.
Last week the IRB announced that former New Zealand Referee Manager Keith Lawrence will manage the referees at all eight Series tournaments, starting with Dubai on November 28-29.
"The appointment of a manager of referees for the Sevens Series is great news.
"There was some degree of frustration in that area in the past, but with Keith now on board in that strategic role I am sure that there will be greater consistency, which will ultimately benefit everyone," said Treu.
Meanwhile, Treu has confirmed that the Springbok Sevens management will visit the Arabian Gulf Rugby Union from October 9-11 to assist the Arabian Gulf team in their preparations for the Sevens Rugby World Cup tournament next year in Dubai.
"The Arabian Gulf recently invited us with a view to assist them in their preparations and we are delighted to share some of our experience with them.
"They will reciprocate with visits to South Africa from November 12-19 and January 15-23 to continue with their training at our base camp in Stellenbosch, where we will also play a series of warm-up matches against them," explained Treu.
Meanwhile, SA Rugby plans to stage the launch of the 2008 SA Sevens tournament in early October.
This event will be followed by another launch, where the names of the contracted group of Springbok Sevens players will be announced.
SAPA
