Former referee Jaco Peyper will oversee a new 'elite' referees panel created by SA Rugby to help South African officials to make the step up to international level.
Round six of the Gallagher Premiership promises to deliver another thrilling weekend of action, with teams looking to solidify their positions ahead of a break before the Test rugby returns in November.
With England versus New Zealand on the November 2 horizon and Steve Borthwick poised to name his Test squad on Wednesday for the four-game Autum Nations Series, a number of leading candidates have been pencilled in for some timely club action.
There are just four weeks to go before the All Blacks arrive at Allianz Stadium on November 2, so players will be vying to impress.
The Gallagher Premiership table after round one highlighted how you can get strange quirks in this game, defending champions Northampton finding themselves at the bottom 16 weeks after they lifted the trophy at Twickenham.
All 10 clubs have named their teams and numerous selections catch the eye. For instance, Beno Obano, whose red card was influential in tilting last June’s Twickenham showpiece result in favour of Northampton, has completed his suspension and is a Bath starter at The Rec.
The Seattle Seawolves have made it two Major League Rugby titles from two attempts after clinching a dramatic 26-23 victory over the San Diego Legion at Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego on Sunday [PT].
SUPER RUGBY PREVIEW 2018: In the third instalment of our 15-part build-up to the season we start with the South African Conference and look at the Sharks.