IRB brings in new refs for Tests
There are several fresh faces on the appointments of referees to the November Tests involving Northern Hemisphere countries.
The IRB match official selection committee that made the appointments is John Jeffrey (Chairman), Tappe Henning and Lyndon Bray (both SANZAR), Donal Courtney and Clayton Thomas (both Six Nations) and Joël Jutge (the IRB's manager of referees).
The panel meets four times per year with all performances reviewed as part of the next round of international selections. This particular meeting took place over the weekend of the Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand recently.
New faces of a kind are: Lourens van der Merwe of South Africa, Leighton Hodges of Wales, Glen Jackson of New Zealand, Greg Garner of England who refereed a Test in the European Nations Cup last year and was at the Junior World Championship this year, Francesco Pastrana and Juan Sylvestre of Argentina, Joaquin Montes of Uruguay, Mathieu Raynal and Pascal Gauzere of France and Jonny Lacey of Ireland who refereed in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Van der Merwe, Jackson, Garner, Pastrana, Raynal and Hodges were at the Junior World Championship in South Africa earlier this year.
Again there are few Scottish appointments - no referees, three assistant referees and two TMOs.
The IRB announced that these appointments followed a thorough review of performances during the June international window and the recently concluded Castle Rugby Championship by their match official selection committee, which is committed to promoting consistency in officiating.
Chairman of the selection committee John Jeffrey said: “With an unprecedented number of international matches being played over the next few weeks, it has given us the opportunity to appoint a number of up-and-coming referees to some exciting test matches.
“It is all part of ensuring that we have the best possible match official team available for Rugby World Cup 2015 while also providing the best referees for the highest-level matches.”
The November programme has been expanded to give more Tests to 'Tier Two' countries.
Jeffrey said: “While the expanded international match programme places additional pressures on the match official appointments process, it also offers the selectors the opportunity to widen the opportunities for the high performance match official group. In considering the appointments, the committee took the view that the selection criteria should be based on a strategy of selecting the current high-level performers underpinned by a growth philosophy towards having the best match official team available for selection for Rugby World Cup 2015.”
Clearly the appointments are incomplete. We shall add to them when they are more fully known.
The Appointments
3 November 2012
Oxford University vs Russia in Oxford, England
Referee: tba (England)
9 November 2012
Russia vs USA at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Wales
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Samoa vs Canada at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Wales
Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
10 November 2012
England vs Fiji at Twickenham, London
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Wales vs Argentina at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
France vs Australia at Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Italy vs Tonga at Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official: Eric Gauzins (France)
Ireland vs South Africa Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Steve Walsh (Australia), Luke Pierce (England)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Romania vs Japan in Bucharest, Romania
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
11 November 2012
Scotland vs New Zealand at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzere (France), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
Uruguay vs Portugal in Montevideo, Uruguay
Referee: Juan Sylvestre (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Felipe Balbontin (Chile), Henrique Platais (Brazil)
13 November 2012
Gloucester vs Fiji at Kingsholm, Gloucester
Referee: tba (England)
16 November 2012
Wales vs Samoa at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
17 November 2012
England vs Australia at Twickenham, London
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens, Mathieu Raynal
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
France vs Argentina at Grand Stade Lille Metropole, Lille
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Italy vs New Zealand at Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Peter Allan (Scotland)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Scotland vs South Africa at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Christophe Berdos (France)
Television match official: Eric Gauzins (France)
Canada vs Russia at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Wales
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Tonga vs USA at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Wales
Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Georgia vs Japan in Tbilisi, Georgia
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Vlad Iordachescu (Romania), Radu Petrescu (Romania)
Ireland XV vs Fiji at Thomond Park, Limerick
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Chile vs Portugal in Santiago, Chile
Referee: Joaquin Montes (Uruguay)
Assistant referees: Henrique Platais (Brazil), Juan Sylvestre (Argentina)
21 November 2012
Basque Selection vs Japan at Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastian
Referee: tba (France)
23 November 2012
Canada vs Maori All Blacks at Iffley Road, Oxford, England
Referee: tba (England)
24 November 2012
England vs South Africa at Twickenham, London
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Ireland vs Argentina at Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Andrew Small (England)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
Wales vs New Zealand at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces, Greg Garner (England)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
France vs Samoa at Stade de France, Paris
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Television match official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Scotland vs Tonga at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Italy vs Australia at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Neil Paterson
Television match official: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Georgia vs Fiji in Tbilisi, Georgia
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Romania vs USA in Bucharest, Romania
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Andrew McMenemy, Ian Davies
25 November 2012
France Barbarians vs Japan at Stadium Oceane, Le Havre
Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
1 December 2012
England vs New Zealand at Twickenham, London
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Wales vs Australia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite, Greg Garner (England)
Television match official: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)