Ed Morrison appointed as Independent Referee Commissioner

charged primarily with overseeing the appointment of match officials to the Guinness PRO12 but also working closely with the referee managers of the four PRO12 Unions and the European referee manager.

Ed brings a wealth of refereeing experience, having commenced refereeing in 1981 in the Bristol Refereeing Society when a knee injury brought an end to his playing career. During Ed's active refereeing career he took charge of 41 major international tests. He participated in 3 Rugby World Cups culminating in his appointment as referee in the iconic 1995 South Africa V New Zealand Rugby World Cup Final in South Africa. On retirement from refereeing in 2000 Ed was offered a referee development role by the RFU and from 2008 was the RFU's Elite Referee Development Manager until he left in September 2013.

Commenting on the appointment Ed Crozier, PRO12 Board member, SRU, said, "We are delighted to welcome Ed Morrison as an independent referee commissioner. PRO12 Rugby is continually trying to improve the standard of officiating and this appointment is showing a commitment to fulfil that objective. Our competition is unique in that it involves 12 teams in 4 countries with neutral officials from all 4 national rugby unions involved. Ed Morrison will assist in independently selecting the match officials and so greatly help the referee managers of the 4 Unions involved.

The profile of the Guinness PRO12 keeps on increasing and this additional support of officiating recognises the invaluable contribution of our match officials to the tournament," he said.