Six Nations refs announced
The International Rugby Board has announced the match official appointments for the Six Nations 2009, which kicks off on Saturday, 7 February.
Most notable amongst the appointments for the 15 Championship matches is the appointment of South African Mark Lawrence to the match between France and Wales on 27 February. The match at the Stade de France will be the first in the history of the Championship to be played on a Friday. Lawrence's comeback into top refereeing has been remarkable.
Lawrence, along with Alain Rolland (Ireland), Nigel Owens (Wales) and the world’s most experienced Test referee, Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) will take charge of two matches, while Craig Joubert (South Africa), Chris White (England), Stuart Dickinson (Australia) and Alan Lewis (Ireland) will take charge of one Championship match each.
There is also a debut Six Nations match for George Clancy, who was promoted to the IRB’s High Performance Panel in November. The Irishman will take charge of the match between France and Scotland at the Stade de France on 14 February .
France’s Joel Jutge and New Zealand’s Steve Walsh have been provisionally appointed to matches on the final Championship weekend. The pair missed out on the November Tests through injury and will be assessed before they are confirmed for their fixtures. Jutge has not refereed at all this year following a knee injury.
The appointments of assistants and television match officials has been largely left to European referees because the SANZAR referees are needed for the Super 14.
Appointments were made after a comprehensive review of refereeing performances by the IRB Match Official Selection Committee, chaired by David Pickering. For the first time the process included self-assessment, with referees giving structured feedback on their individual performances.
Six Nations 2009 Appointments
7 February
England vs Italy at Twickenham, London
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Joel Jutge (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Ireland vs France at Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: David Pearson (England), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
8 February
Scotland vs Wales at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges: Chris White (England), Rob Debney (England)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
14 February
France vs Scotland at Stade de France, Paris
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Wales vs England at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
15 February
Italy vs Ireland at Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Referee: Chris White (England)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
27 February
France vs Wales at Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
28 February
Scotland vs Italy at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: George Clancy (Ireland), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Ireland vs England at Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges: Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
14 March
Italy vs Wales Stadio at Flaminio, Rome
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges: David Pearson (England), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
Scotland vs Ireland at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official: Hugh Watkins (Wales)
15 March
England vs France at Twickenham, London
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
21 March
Italy vs France at Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
England vs Scotland at Twickenham, London
Referee: Joel Jutge (France)
Touch judges: Christophe Berdos (France), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Wales vs Ireland at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England), David Pearson (England)
Television match official: Romain Poite (France)