World Rugby confirms match official appointments for the Nations Championship 2026 Southern Hemisphere Series

The World Rugby Match Official appointments have been announced for the Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere Series taking place in July with James Doleman, Pierre Brousset and Andrew Brace being tasked with holding the whistle in the Boks’ three matches.

New Zealander Doleman takes charge of the Boks’ opener against England at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on 4 July, with Brace (Ireland) and Brousset (France) running touch and Richard Kelly (New Zealand) being handed the TMO duties.

Brousset steps up as referee for the second Test, against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on 11 July, with Doleman and Brace on the flags, and Kelly serving as the TMO.

Brace completes the team’s opening leg of the inaugural tournament, controlling the Boks' final home Test against Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on 18 July, with Brousset and Doleman running touch, and Hodges in the TMO box.

Looking back, Brace has refereed the Boks in seven Tests, with South Africa winning six of these; the Boks have won all three previous Tests under Doleman; while Brousset’s only prior involvement with the Boks has been as assistant referee.

Furthermore, South Africa’s Morne Ferreira (assistant referee) and Marius van der Westhuizen (TMO) were also appointed to some of the encounters.

The Nations Championship has been created through a landmark joint venture between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR and brings together the 12 strongest teams in international rugby for a unique northern v southern hemisphere tournament format. Two chapters of fixtures across the exciting July and November international rugby windows build towards a Finals Weekend in London this November.

Sixteen referees from eight nations will take charge of the 18 Nations Championship matches played from 4-18 July with Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Nic Berry (Australia) handed two matches.

Luke Pearce (England) will referee the opening match, New Zealand v France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on July 4, of a tournament that will involve 35 officials from 11 nations in total.

A week later Hollie Davidson (pictured above) will become the first Scottish official to referee 50 Tests when she takes charge of Fiji v England in Liverpool. Davidson will be the third female – and 19th official in history – to reach the milestone and joins Matthew Carley (England) and Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) in doing so in 2026.

Angus Gardner (Australia) will take charge of the final Test of this phase of the Nations Championship, Argentina v England in Santiago del Estero on 18 July.

World Rugby will be supporting its Social Impact Partner, ChildFund Rugby, with visibility across match officials’ jerseys during the Nations Championship.

VIEW NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP APPOINTMENTS HERE

World Rugby have also confirmed the Emirates Match Official appointments for the July matches of the inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup, which take place in the Americas from 4-18 July. The new competition brings together 12 nations from rugby’s most dynamic growth markets, competing across the July and November windows in two pools of six teams.

Designed to deliver consistent, meaningful international fixtures and a compelling narrative for fans, the Nations Cup is a cornerstone of the evolving global calendar alongside the top division, the Nations Championship, strengthening competitiveness and building momentum towards an expanded 24-team Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.

Nine referees from 10 nations will take charge of the 18 matches hosted evenly across North and South America in Canada, Chile, Uruguay and USA with a blend of standalone matches and double headers.

Seven of them will referee two matches each across the three weeks with Damián Schneider (Argentina, pictured below) handed three appointments in the middle and Jérémy Rozier (France) one.

Craig Evans (Wales) will referee the opening match of the Nations Cup 2026 in exactly one month, between Uruguay and Georgia at Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo on 4 July.

The opening round will also feature double headers in Chile and USA with Tonga v Zimbabwe and USA v Portugal in Denver, Colorado, forming part of a blockbuster celebration on American Independence Day.

World Rugby have also announced appointments for three representative games across three continents in June, including Sam Grove-White (Scotland) to referee Japan XV v Maori All Blacks on 27 June.