Match-official appointments for November
Four South African referees have been named on the panel of 28 match officials announced by IRB to take charge of the November Tests. Ireland and England also have four referees on the panel, while Wales, New Zealand and France have three each.
South Africa’s Stuart Berry, Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper and Lourens van der Merwe all appear on the referees list for November.
The Springboks’ three Tests during the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour will be handled by Alain Rolland of Ireland (against Wales in Cardiff on 9 November), Jérôme Garces (against Scotland in Edinburgh on 17 November) and England’s Wayne Barnes (against France in Paris on 23 November).
For the full list of appointments, click here.
The appointments have been announced following a thorough review of performances during the June international window and the recently concluded Castle Lager Rugby Championship by the IRB Match Official Selection Committee, which is committed to promoting consistency in officiating.
Chairman of the selection committee and IRB Council member for Scotland John Jeffrey said: “As always, we have made these selections based on performance and form. Every match is scrutinised by a performance reviewer and, importantly, by the referee himself. Selections are made by taking a close look at a number of key performances.
“An expanded November programme offers the selectors the opportunity to deliver more appointments 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 RWC 2015.”
The 28 referees who have been appointed to the November internationals are Claudio Antonio (UAR), Chris Assmus (Rugby Canada), Barnes (RFU), Berry (SARU), George Clancy (IRFU), Ian Davies (WRU), JP Doyle (RFU), Mike Fraser (NZRU), Garces (FFR), Greg Garner (RFU), Pascal Gauzere (FFR), Leighton Hodges (WRU), Glen Jackson (NZRU), Joubert (SARU), John Lacey (IRFU), Van der Merwe (SARU), Marius Mitrea (FIR), Joaquin Montes (URU), Nigel Owens (WRU), Francisco Pastrana (UAR), Luke Pearce (RFU), Peyper (SARU), Dudley Phillips (IRFU), Romain Poite (FFR), Chris Pollock (NZRU), Rolland (IRFU), Juan Sylvestre (UAR) and Steve Walsh (ARU).
The IRB Match Official Selection Committee, chaired by Jeffrey, comprises former elite referees Lyndon Bray (SANZAR), Tappe Henning (SANZAR), Donal Courtney (European Rugby Cup) and Clayton Thomas (6 Nations) and IRB High Performance Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge.
The committee meets four times a year and makes selections for the next international window with all performances reviewed in advance of selection.
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