Women refs for World Cup
Ten of the world's top women referees will officiate at the 2010 Women's World Cup in England in August-September. It is the sixth Women's World Cup and the Final will be played at Twickenham on 5 September.
In all 14 match officials have been appointed to the tournament, four of them men. Of the 14 match officials, 11 are referees, three assistant referees.
The referees are: Sarah Corrigan (Australia), Clare Daniels (England), Joyce Henry (Canada), Lee Wing Yi Gabriel (Hong Kong), Dana Teagarden (USA), Sherry Trumbull (Canada) and Nicky Inwood (New Zealand) plus the four men - David Keane (Ireland), Andrew McMenemy (Scotland), Sébastien Minery (France) and Javier Mancuso (Argentina).
The three specialist assistant referees are Debbie Innes (England) and Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany), who were at the last Women's World Cup and Barbara Guastini (Italy).
IRB Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien said: “The selection of 10 female match officials represents the increasing depth of refereeing talent within international Women’s Rugby.
“This selection represents a great opportunity for referees who have proven themselves on the Women’s international scene to showcase their ability in the world’s premier Women’s Rugby tournament. It will be a very exciting moment for the Women’s Game.”
Planning and preparation for the Women's World Cup are on track. It kicks off on 20 August. All the matches, bar the Final, will be played at Surrey Sports Park, a new multi-sport facility in Guildford and at The Stoop. There will be 12 countries taking part.
IRB Women’s Development Manager Susan Carty said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010 promises to be a special occasion. Fans attending the three-week event can look forward to competitive matches, superb venues and an attractive and innovative ticketing policy.
“Women’s Rugby continues to go from strength to strength around the world and today’s announcement clearly highlights that it is not just on the playing side where significant advances are being made. The selection of 10 female match officials from eight Member Unions further underlines the development of the Women’s Game at all levels.”
Pool A: New Zealand, Wales, Australia, South Africa
Pool B: England, USA, Ireland, Kazakhstan
Pool C: France, Canada, Scotland, Sweden
Fixtures
Friday, 20 August 2010
USA vs Kazakhstan
Canada vs Scotland
New Zealand vs South Africa
Wales vs Australia
England vs Ireland
France vs Sweden
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
New Zealand vs Australia
Wales vs South Africa
France vs Scotland
Canada vs Sweden
England vs Kazakhstan
USA vs Ireland
Saturday, 28 August 2010
France vs Canada
Scotland vs Sweden
New Zealand vs Wales
Australia vs South Africa
England vs USA
Ireland vs Kazakhstan
Two rounds will now be played based on the results of the pool matches. They will be played on Wednesday, 1 September 2010 and Saturday, 5 September 2010