The newly-established SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia Rugby) organisation based in Sydney has appointed former international referee Lyndon Bray to the new role of Game Manager.

Bray is currently the High Performance Referee Manager for the New Zealand Rugby Union a role he has held since September 2008 and will relocate to Sydney in April this year when he commences his SANZAR role.

Bray will be responsible for all of the in-game technical elements of SANZAR competitions including overseeing game trends, match officials and direct liaison with coaches.

Bray started officiating at the Provincial level in 1990 and began his Test refereeing career in 2001 when he officiated in the international between Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. His last international was a 2008 Tri Nations Test between the Springboks and Wallabies in Durban.

In all, Bray refereed in seven internationals, 23 Super Rugby matches and 38 games in New Zealand’s premier provincial competition, the then-Air New Zealand Cup. In total, Bray has refereed 119 first class matches.

SANZAR CEO Greg Peters said Bray was identified as the right person for this specialist role from a recruitment process which attracted applications from around the world.

“Lyndon has made a successful transition from officiating on the field to a game management role and he has already been overseeing much of this activity in his capacity as SANZAR Referee Manager under the NZRU’s management of SANZAR activity over the past year, prior to the establishment of the new organisation.

“As SANZAR enters this new era, I am confident Lyndon will be able to continue the development of our game on the field following the progress made in 2010; and continue the tradition of innovation and excitement in our competitions.”

Bray said he was looking forward to the challenge of the new role and the prospects for SANZAR to accelerate the development of southern hemisphere rugby in the years ahead.

“What really excites me about this role is the opportunity to have an influence and impact not only on the refereeing of the game, but the way in which we in SANZAR like to see the game played,” said Bray.

“The chance to work with the top coaches in our game throughout SANZAR was a major factor in my decision and I am confident that my existing relationship with South African, Australian and New Zealand referees and managers will allow me to work closely with our match officials across the SANZAR boundaries.”