Match officials confirmed for Springboks’ Tests in 2019
· Appointments confirmed for 63 matches of 2019 Test season
· All 23 Rugby World Cup 2019 match officials in action
· Appointments made for RWC 2019 warm-up matches
World Rugby has announced the match official appointments for the 63 confirmed men’s international matches on the road to Rugby World Cup 2019, with Paul Williams (New Zealand), Nic Berry (Australia) and Romain Poite (France) in charge of the Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship Tests in July and August.
Furthermore, South African match officials Jaco Peyper and Marius Jonker will be involved in a number of internationals prior to RWC 2019.
The Springboks will play five Tests before the start of the RWC in Japan – three in the shortened Castle Lager Rugby Championship, one friendly against Argentina and a RWC warm-up game against Japan.
The appointments cover the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, the World Rugby Nations Cup, World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, June internationals and Rugby World Cup 2019 warm-up matches.
All 23 of the match officials selected for Japan 2019 will be in action over a busy and important period of preparation for Rugby World Cup teams and the match officials.
The appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Officials’ Selection Committee comprising Chairman Anthony Buchanan (Council member), Joel Jutge (EPCR), Lyndon Bray (SANZAAR) and Alain Rolland (World Rugby).
Williams, Berry, Poite, Angus Gardner (Australia), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Jérôme Garcès (France) will be taking charge of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches.
Williams is the man in charge when the Springboks kick off their Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign against the Wallabies on 20 July in Johannesburg.
Berry will handle the much-anticipated rematch between the Springboks and All Blacks one week later, on 27 July in Wellington – the scene of South Africa’s epic win over the Kiwis last year – and Poite is the man in the middle when the Boks face Argentina in Salta on 10 August.
The referees in the Boks’ remaining matches are Englishman Pearce (friendly against Argentina on 17 August in Pretoria), while Berry is also scheduled to referee the Springboks’ RWC warm-up encounter with Japan, which takes place on Friday, 6 September in Kumagaya.
Meanwhile, Peyper and Jonker were also handed several Test match duties. They are involved in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks on 10 August in Perth, where Peyper will be an assistant referee and Jonker the television match official (TMO).
The following week sees Peyper, South Africa’s most experience referee, take charge of the Bledisloe Cup Test between the All Blacks and Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland, with Jonker as TMO. And Peyper will carry the whistle in the big RWC warm-up match on 24 August at Twickenham between Six Nations rivals England and Ireland.
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