| Intro | South African rugby union referee | ||
| Is |
Sports official |
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| From |
South Africa |
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| Type |
Sports |
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| Gender | male | ||
| Birth | 6 January 1984, Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa | ||
| Age: | 36 years | ||
| Star sign | Capricorn | ||
| Education |
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Marius van der Westhuizen (born 6 January 1984) is a South African rugby union referee, currently on the Premier Panel of the South African Rugby Referees’ Association.
Early career
He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He started his refereeing career in 2007 and refereed in matches in the Western Province leagues. In 2009, he became a member of SARRA’s contenders squad and he took charge of matches in the Craven Week and Under-19 Provincial Championship competitions.
He started refereeing first class matches in 2011, making his debut in the 2011 Vodacom Cup match between the Free State Cheetahs and the Falcons in Bloemfontein and took charge of ten matches in the 2011 Under-19 and Under-21 Provincial Championships.
2012 saw him referee in a number of Varsity Cup and Varsity Shield matches, as well as taking charge of three matches during the 2012 Vodacom Cup. His first Currie Cup appointment was the match between the SWD Eagles and Boland Cavaliers in George and he also took charge of the Cavaliers match against the Griffons in Welkom, as well as a number of matches in the 2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship and the match between Wales Under-18 and England Under-18.
International
He became a referee on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit, where he very quickly established himself as one of the top referees, being the man in charge of the 2013 Hong Kong Sevens final in just his third tournament. He was also named on the refereeing panel for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow.
Further appointments in Varsity Rugby followed in 2013 (which included refereeing the 2013 Varsity Cup final between Maties and UP Tuks), as well as a further four Vodacom Cup appearances. He officiated three matches in the 2013 Currie Cup First Division before his first Premier Division appointment for the match between the Golden Lions and Free State Cheetahs in Johannesburg, his first of five matches in the competition.
He was named on SANZAR’s referee list for the 2014 Super Rugby season and was in charge of his first Super Rugby match when the Lions met the Crusaders in Johannesburg.
He also officiated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. as well as at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship, taking charge of three matches, including the 5th-place play-off semi-final between Australia and Samoa,
Van der Westhuizen refereed at the 2015 Tbilisi Cup to become the 69th test referee for South Africa.