NZ's top ref kept out of South Africa

Rugby World Cup referee Bryce Lawrence will not be travelling to South Africa for the Super 15.

This follows the uproar over his handling of the South Africa-Australia World Cup quarter-final, won 11-9 by the Wallabies, and subsequent fears for his safety.

After the match, the Kiwi ref received email and Facebook threats, and was heavily criticised by Springbok captain John Smit and former World Cup final referee Andre Watson of South Africa.

Referees have received their match schedules for the Super 15, which starts on February 24, and Lawrence said he was not listed to control any games in the republic.

While part of him would have liked to have travelled to South Africa to deal with the criticism and get that over and done with, he could understand that Sanzar - which controls the three-nation contest - did not want a sideshow to detract from its tournament.

"In some ways I'd like to go and front it, but it's not really my decision."

Sanzar referees boss Lyndon Bray could not be reached for comment, but it is understood there were fears a fan might have tried to avenge South Africa's quarter-final defeat.

In an interview with the Weekend Herald, Lawrence said he had been hurt by the extent of the fall-out over the way he controlled the match that put the Springboks out of the World Cup. He accepted that his performance warranted criticism, but he could not accept the implication that his performance was biased.

The conspiracy theory that a win for Australia gave New Zealand an easier road to the Webb Ellis Cup has gained credence in South Africa.

"I got quite a few threats, people telling me if I came to South Africa to watch my back because they'd take me out," Lawrence said. "The thing that scared me most was that people would really believe I cheated deliberately and fixed the game.

"The thing I pride myself on the most is that I'm up front and honest. For people to say I didn't referee the breakdown very well, that didn't hurt at all."

It was Lawrence's handling of the breakdown, the most convoluted of rugby's laws, that created the biggest upset.

The winner of the Referee of the Year title at this year's New Zealand Rugby Awards conceded he took the wrong approach into the game.

With the benefit of hindsight, he said, he would have refereed the breakdown more "technically".

Had he done so, Wallaby flanker David Pocock might have been penalised a couple of more times than he was - but he would have also earned a lot more penalties for his team, so dominant was he in that area.