Refs for ARC start
Matt Goddard will blow the first whistle to start the first match of the brand new Australian Rugby Championship with its brand new teams.
The first match will be between Sydney Fleet and Central Coast Rays at North Sydney Oval on 10 August.
The second match will be in Perth when Perth Spirit plays Western Sydney Rams. James Leckie, like Goddard a Test referee will referee that match.
The matches in this new competition will be played under the Experimental Law Variations, sometimes refereed to as the Stellenbosch Laws because the testing of possible changes to the laws started at Stellenbosch University. They have already been tried in Sydney and Brisbane which gives the ARC sides from there a march ahead of the Perth side.
Because Stuart Dickinson and Paul Marks will be at the World Cup, they will not be refereeing these matches lest it cause confusion and uncertainty with the change of laws. Any general changes to the laws will take place only after the World Cup.
Of the Referees who will officiate in the ARC Goddard, Leckie and Brett Bowden have experience at International Level. The other officials who will control games will come from the National High Performance Panel and the National Referees Academy.
Peter Marshall, Australia’s referees’ manager and a former Test referee, said: “While there is a focus on player development, the Mazda ARC provides us with a new challenge for our younger referees..
“These are referees who have shown potential over a number of years and have earned the right to officiate on a stage such as the Mazda ARC, the new platform between the club competitions and the elite Super 14 and Test levels of the game.
“The Mazda ARC signals a very exciting time for Australian rugby, not only for the players, but our emerging referees who will for the first time in Australia control a game using all of the new Experimental Law Variations.”
The appointments have been made for the first four weeks.
Week 1
Friday 10 August
Sydney Fleet Central Coast Rays at North Sydney Oval
Referee: Matt Goddard
Touch judges: George Ayoub, Daniel Cheever
Assessor: Wayne Erickson
Perth Spirit vs West Sydney Rams at Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Referee: James Leckie
Touch judges: Andrew Lindsay, Sean Popperwell
Assessor: Ian Hailes
Saturday 11 August
Canberra Vikings vs Melbourne Rebels at Manuka Oval, Canberra
Referee: Brett Bowden
Touch judges: Damian Mitchelmore, Sarah Corrigan
Television match official: Nathan Kearns
Assessor: Mick Keogh
Sunday 12 August
East Coast Aces vs Ballymore Tornadoes at Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast
Referee: Geoff Acton
Touch judges: Paul Marks, Paul Twoomey
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski
Assessor: Andrew Cole
Week 2
Friday 17 August
Melbourne Rebels vs East Coast Aces at Olympic Park
Referee: James Scholtens
Touch judges: Paul McKay, Pat Rae
Assessor: Rick Watsford
Perth Spirit vs Canberra Vikings at Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Referee: Andrew Lindsay
Touch judges: Matt O’Brien, Sean Popperwell
Assessor: Ian Hailes
Saturday 18 August
Central Coast Rays vs West Sydney Rams at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Referee: Daniel Cheever
Touch judges: George Ayoub, Andrew Lees
Television match official: Bradley Wahl
Assessor: Wayne Erickson
Sunday 19 August
Ballymore Tornadoes vs Sydney Fleet at Ballymore
Referee: Ian Smith
Touch judges: Paul Marks, Simon Moore
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski
Assessor: Ian Scotney
Week 3
Saturday 25 August
Sydney Fleet vs Perth Spirit at North Sydney Oval
Referee: Daniel Cheever
Touch judges: Grant MacNeill, Andrew Lees
Television match official: Bradley Wahl
Assessor: Mick Tanzer
Sunday 26 August
East Coast Aces vs Central Coast Rays at Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast
Referee: Simon Moore
Touch judges: Geoff Acton, Craig Hills
Assessor: Ian Scotney
Canberra Vikings vs Ballymore Tornadoes at Manuka Oval, Canberra
Referee: Julian Pritchard
Touch judges: Brett Bowden, Nathan Kearns
Assessor: Mick Keogh
West Sydney Rams vs Melbourne Rebels at Parramatta Stadium
Referee: Nathan Pearce
Touch judges: Ian Smith, Damian Mitchelmore
Television match official: James Scholtens
Assessor: Wayne Erickson
Week 4
Saturday 1 September
West Sydney Rams vs Ballymore Tornadoes at Parramatta Stadium
Referee: Ian Smith
Touch judges: George Ayoub, Nathan Pearce
Television match official: James Scholtens
Assessor: Wayne Erickson
Sunday 2 September
Central Coast Rays vs Perth Spirit at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Referee: Matt Goddard
Touch judges: Daniel Cheever, Grant MacNeill
Television match official: Bradley Wahl
Assessor: Brian Kinsey
East Coast Aces vs Canberra Vikings at Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast
Referee: Simon Moore
Touch judges: Steve Leszczynski, Paul Twomey
Assessor: Scott Young
Melbourne Rebels vs Sydney Fleet at Olympic Park
Referee: James Leckie
Touch judges: Paul McKay, Pat Rae
Assessor: Rick Watsford
