The referee appointments for Round #8 are now confirmed with Jaco Peyper set to referee his 100th Super Rugby match.
Round 8 kicks-off with another big New Zealand Conference derby when Highlanders host Hurricanes in Dunedin, where Glen Jackson will be in charge. The same night there is a South African derby in Johannesburg where Marius van der Westhuizen will have the whistle for the Lions versus Sharks clash.
Saturday action kicks-off in Christchurch with Jaco Peyper refereeing the Crusaders versus Brumbies match. In doing so he becomes just the fourth referee to hit the 100 matches milestone in Super Rugby. In Auckland the Trans-Tasman battle between Blues and Waratahs will be refereed by Federico Anselmi.
The weekend finishes in Pretoria with a South African Conference clash between the Bulls and Jaguares where Brendon Pickerill will be the referee.
| Match | Highlanders v Hurricanes @ Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin |
| Date | Friday 5 April |
| Kick-off | 19:35 local |
| Referee | Glen Jackson |
| AR1 | Nick Briant |
| AR2 | Paul Williams |
| TMO | Ben Skeen |
| Match | Reds v Stormers @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| Date | Friday 5 April |
| Kick-off | 19:00 local |
| Referee | Marius van der Westhuizen |
| AR1 | AJ Jacobs |
| AR2 | Nic Berry |
| TMO | James Leckie |
| Match | Lions v Sharks @ Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg |
| Date | Friday 5 April |
| Kick-off | 19:10 local |
| Referee | Mike Fraser |
| AR1 | Rasta Rasivhenge |
| AR2 | Brendon Pickerill |
| TMO | Willie Vos |
| Match | Crusaders v Brumbies @ Christchurch Stadium Christchurch |
| Date | Saturday 6 April |
| Kick-off | 17:15 local |
| Referee | Jaco Peyper |
| AR1 | Egon Seconds |
| AR2 | Paul Williams |
| TMO | Ben Skeen |
| Match | Blues v Waratahs @ Eden Park, Auckland |
| Date | Saturday 6 April |
| Kick-off | 19:35 local |
| Referee | Federico Anselmi |
| AR1 | Nick Briant |
| AR2 | Glen Jackson |
| TMO | Glenn Newman |
| Match | Rebels v Sunwolves @ AAMI Park, Melbourne |
| Date | Saturday 6 April |
| Kick-off | 19:45 local |
| Referee | Nic Berry |
| AR1 | AJ Jacobs |
| AR2 | Marius van der Westhuizen |
| TMO | Ian Smith |
| Match | Bulls v Jaguares @ Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria |
| Date | Saturday 6 April |
| Kick-off | 15:05 local |
| Referee | Brendon Pickerill |
| AR1 | Rasta Rasivhenge |
| AR2 | Mike Fraser |
| TMO | Willie Vos |
Bye: Chiefs
