The Emirates World Rugby Match Officials have been confirmed for the men’s international window in November.
Thirty referees from 12 nations will take charge of the 36 Test matches and five other matches featuring representative teams in the window.
Jordan Way (Australia) will take charge of the first match in the window, between Japan and New Zealand in Yokohama on 26 October, with Andrea Piardi (Italy) to referee the last match on 30 November between Ireland and Australia in Dublin.
Craig Evans (Wales), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Luc Ramos (France), Christophe Ridley (England) and Hollie Davidson (Scotland) will all take charge of two Test matches in this window.
Davidson is one of two female officials appointed by World Rugby to matches in November alongside Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), who has been selected as assistant referee for three matches: Georgia v All Blacks XV on 10 November, Spain v Fiji on 16 November and Georgia v Tonga on 24 November.
Ridley will be in charge of the Springboks' clash with Scotland on November 10, South Africa then face England (November 16) with Andrew Brace the man in the middle and for the World Champions' final Test of the year against Wales (November 23), Karl Dickson will be in charge of proceedings.
South African match official Morne Ferreira will referee his first Test abroad next month after he was appointed by World Rugby to take charge of the match between Spain and Fiji in Valladolid (with Barrett-Theron).
Apart from the Test in Spain on 16 November, Ferreira – who refereed his first Tests in the Stellenbosch Challenge in 2021, where Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Brazil played – has also been appointed as an assistant referee in four other matches, including France v Argentina in Paris.
Three more South African match officials, Quinton Immelman, Marius Jonker and Marius van der Westhuizen, will appear on the TMO panel for the Test window.
Highlights
Jérémy Rozier (France) and Reuben Keane (Australia) to make Test debuts in the middle
Keane will take charge of Hong Kong China v Brazil on 9 November with Rozier to referee the Netherlands v Chile a week later
Rozier missed the World Rugby U20 Championship 2024 through injury but eight members of that referee panel have appointments in November.
Six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 men’s panel handed appointments in Way, Rozier, Keane, Ferreira, Adam Leal (England) and Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) plus George Selwood (England) from the women’s panel
Takehito Namekawa and Katsuki Furuse (both Japan) handed appointments after refereeing the finals of the World Rugby U20 Championship and U20 Trophy respectively in July
Nika Amashukeli to referee the repeat of the Rugby World Cup 2023 opening match between France and New Zealand at Stade de France on 16 November
Fellow Georgian Saba Abulashvili handed first Test appointment as referee by World Rugby – Spain v USA on 23 November – after officiating at U20 Championship in July
Confirmation of any law trials operational during the window will be made by the respective competition owners and unions in the coming weeks.
Men’s Emirates World Rugby High Performance Match Officials Selectors Chairman Brett Robinson said: “As we build towards Rugby World Cup 2031 in the USA via an expanded Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia and the new Nations Cup, we continue to be focused on developing a broader team of match officials. With a new match officiating strategy and high-performance system, deeper collaboration across unions and competitions, the evolution is reflected in this selection. Congratulations to all.”
World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Official Manager Joël Jutge added: “Throughout 2024 we have been focusing on resetting the relationship with coaches, embedding a new performance structure and driving clarity across the game.
“With law amendments, law trials and a revised Television Match Official process to contend with, I am proud of how the team has responded. November is the next step for us to give experience to a wider team with an eye on Rugby World Cup 2031 in the USA.”
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