Marius Marriott's Referee of the Month

Marriott, the sponsors of South African referees, have announced Marius van der Westhuizen as the Referee of the Month for March 2013.

It has been a great month and a bit for Van der Westhuizen. He joined the IRB's Sevens Series in Wellington in February and then went on to tournaments, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Although it was just his third series, Van der Westhuizen was appointed to referee the final of the Hong Kong Sevens, traditionally the Sevens tournament with the highest profile, rugby's biggest party.

Not yet 30, Van der Westhuizen, who joined the Western Province Referees' Society in 2007, has refereed the final match at Craven Week, the Koshuis Final in the Varsity Cup, the final of the Hong Kong Sevens and the 2013 Varsity Cup Final. André Watson, South Africa's refereeing boss, has described Van der Westhuizen as a 'special talent'.

Marriott established a Referee of the Month Award in July 2010 to honour refereeing excellence during the Super Rugby and Currie Cup tournaments. According to Marriott, the award also aims to further uplift South African Referees and to create a sense of achievement.

The decision of the Referee of the Month is entrusted to a panel which Watson chairs. Also on the panel are Tappe Henning, the IRB selector who is in charge of the performance measurement department of SA Referees and, like Watson, a former Test referee, and Rassie Erasmus, SARU's high performance manager. Coaches' views are also considered.

The winner each month, receives R5 000 to invest in a Marriott investment of their choice. The award presentation is aired on Boots and All on the second Thursday of each month.

Referees of the Month from the Beginning

Referee of the Month July 2010: Pro Legoete

Referee of the Month August 2010: Jason Jaftha

Referee of the Month September 2010: Marius Jonker

Referee of the Month February 2011: Jaco Peyper

Referee of the Month March 2011: Marius Jonker

Referee of the Month April 2011: Jaco Peyper

Referee of the Month May 2011: Jonathan Kaplan

Referee of the Month June 2011: Craig Joubert

Referee of the Month July 2011: Lourens van der Merwe

Referee of the Month August 2011: Jason Jaftha

Referee of the Month September 2011: Mark Lawrence

Referee of the Month October 2011: Mark Lawrence

Referee of the Month March 2012: Lourens van der Merwe

Referee Of the Month April 2012: Craig Joubert

Referee of the Month May 2012: Jaco Peyper

Referee of the Month July 2012: Craig Joubert

Referee of the Month August 2012: Rasta Rasivhenge

Referee of the Month September 2012: Jason Jaftha

Referee of the Month October 2012: Jaco Peyper

Referee of the Month March 2013: Marius van der Westhuizen