I have a lot of respect for this man

Super 12 Referee Missing


A Super 12 Referee has gone missing after diving off the side of a boat.

Carl Spannenberg, one of the top referees in South Africa, and a referee who has been involved with New Zealand Super 12 teams, is missing feared drowned.

He was in a boat with some friends on Zeekoeivlei, in the southern part of the Cape Peninsula, on November 11 with friends. They say he dived from the boat into the water and did not resurface.

His friends searched for him and then alerted the police, whose divers searched till nightfall. There was still no trace of Spannenberg.

Spannenberg is one of South Africa's first four professional referees - along with Andre Watson, Jonathan Kaplan and Tappe Henning. He is the equivalent to New Zealand's professional referees Colin Hawke, Steve Walsh, Paul Honiss, Kelvin Deaker or Paddy O'Brien.

There is no doubt he would have been involved with refereeing New Zealand teams again this year.

Apart from refereeing all over the world, he is responsible for the guidance and development of referees in South Africa, especially in the Stormers region (South Western Districts, Boland and Western Province).

Spannenberg took up refereeing at the age of 19 when a back injury forced him to stop propping for Meltons RFC. His rise in refereeing circles was rapid.

Spannenberg refereed his first Test, Wales vs Italy, in 1994. In all he has refereed six Tests.

Damn

sad to hear

hey funky, mail me do0d, damian@box.net.nz
i got some pics for ya from our lunch the other day

=)

on its way

sweet, just have to wait for a spare line. it'l prolly be laterz this afternoon, but it'l get there

=)

any chance they found this dude ?

cause he was a bloody good ref when he was a round