Just three Australian referees have been named in SANZAAR’s 17 man squad to officiate this year’s Super Rugby tournament.

Angus Gardner, Nic Berry and Will Houston will fly the flag for the Australian officials, alongside seven referees from New Zealand and five South African officials. Argentina and Japan will both provide one referee each.

Despite this, referees boss Lyndon Bray is confident SANZAAR have found the right balance in their officiating squad.

“The team is a well balanced mix of referees with Test and Super Rugby experience and several emerging referees who now have one or two seasons under their belt,” Bray said.

“The experience in the team comes from Jaco Peyper and Glen Jackson, who have refereed 82 and 65 matches respectively, while we also have a group around the 40-50 mark including Angus Gardner, Nick Briant and Mike Fraser.”