Springboks get French-English double at Rugby World Cup
The Springboks’ pool matches at the Rugby World Cup will be handled exclusively by French and English referees, World Rugby’s appointment schedule revealed on Friday.
Two Frenchmen and two Englishmen will be in charge of South Africa’s four Pool B matches in Japan in September and October.
The officials appointed to the Springboks’ matches are:
| Date | Fixture | Venue | Referee | AR 1 | AR 2 | TMO |
| Sat 21 Sept | New Zealand v South Africa | International Stadium, Yokohama | Jerome Garces (FFR) | Romain Poite (FFR) | Karl Dickson (RFU) | Graham Hughes (RFU) |
| Sat 28 Sept | South Africa v Namibia | City of Toyota Stadium | Mathieu Raynal (FFR) | Nic Berry (RA) | Andrew Brace (IRFU) | Graham Hughes (RFU) |
| Fri 4 Oct | South Africa v Italy | Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa | Wayne Barnes (RFU) | Romain Poite (FFR) | Alex Ruiz (FFR) | Rowan Kitt (RFU) |
| Tues 8 Oct | South Africa v Canada | Kobe Misaki Stadium | Luke Pearce (RFU) | Angus Gardner (RA) | Andrew Brace (IRFU) | Rowan Kitt (RFU) |
Pearce and Raynal are among five referees making their first appearance at a Rugby World Cup while South Africa’s Jaco Peyper will mark a major milestone when he takes charge of Japan v Samoa at the City of Toyota Stadium on 5 October.Should he referee all scheduled test matches prior to the match, Peyper will make his 50th test appearance.
Peyper will also take charge of matches between Argentina and Tonga and England and France.
All match officials have been appointed to at least three pool matches and with matches taking place across 12 venues the length and breadth of Japan, the appointments reflect the need for optimal load management, including preparation, travel and recovery time said World Rugby in a statement.
The appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee comprising Chairman Anthony Buchanan (Council member), Joel Jutge (EPCR),Lyndon Bray (SANZAAR), Nick Mallett (former international coach) and Alain Rolland (World Rugby).
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