Referee Nick Briant has been selected for the NZR national squad. Photo / Sam Ackland
Bay of Plenty Rugby referees Nick Briant, Andy Morton and Tiana Ngawati have been selected for the National Refereeing Squad for the upcoming FPC, Heartland and NPC seasons.
Briant returns for his 14th consecutive season on the national panel, and being only six matches away from reaching his 200th first-class
appointment he will be looking for a good start when the NPC kicks off on August 7.
Briant, who controlled the last two NPC premiership finals, is joined in the National Squad by Englishman Andy Morton, who arrived in New Zealand in December 2021 with his partner and Black Ferns physio to the Bay of Plenty.
Morton, who came with a big reputation, has made an immediate impact in the Farmlands Baywide premier mens' competition, demonstrating a number of high-performance traits that NZR are looking for.
A heavily pregnant Tiana Ngawati was also named in this year's squad but will start maternity leave from her role as Bay of Plenty Rugby performance general manager on Friday July 9.
