BOP refs in charge of Mitre 10 Cup finals

NUMBER ONE: Tauranga's Glen Jackson will referee the Premiership final tomorrow night. PHOTO/photosport

While the Bay of Plenty Steamers narrowly missed the Championship final last Friday night, three of Bay of Plenty's national squad referees will feature in both Mitre 10 Cup finals matches this weekend.

Tonight Nick Briant will take control of the Championship final between Otago and North Harbour at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, kick off at 7.35pm.

Jamie Nutbrown and Kane McBride, both from Canterbury, will be on the touchlines while in the TMO seat is fellow Bay of Plenty referee Shane McDermott.

Canterbury will host Tasman in the Premiership final at AMI Stadium on Saturday night. Glen Jackson will be the man in the middle, with Brendon Pickerill (North Harbour) and Angus Mabey (Auckland) on the touch lines and Aaron Paterson (Waikato) will be the TMO. Kick off is 7.35pm. Both games will be live on Sky Sports 1.

Nick Briant says he is proud to represent the Bay of Plenty refs in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship final.

"And with two talented and exciting teams playing under the roof, it should be a cracker of a game. It's also nice to have my BOP mate Gappy [McDermott] in the TMO box watching my back."

Jackson and Briant have both enjoyed recent success, with the former attending last year's Rugby World Cup and Briant attending the Olympics in Rio as a match official in the sevens.

Both have been rewarded for the exceptional year by being nominated in the Sports Bay of Plenty Awards in the "Match Official of the Year" category.

"It's a privilege to get a nomination for Bay of Plenty official of the year. It's great to see so many wonderful athletes that call the Bay home and I wish them all the best," Jackson said.