Referee officials for the knock-outs
The International Rugby Board has announced the group of match officials, referees, television match officials and selectors, and the Board has announced the appointments for the upcoming Rugby World Cup quarterfinals.
All ten originally appointed referees have been retained, and those appointed to the quarters are Craig Joubert, Steve Walsh, Bryce Lawrence and Nigel Owens.
The specialist assistant referees have been retained and only two of the TMOs – Shaun Veldsman and Giulio De Santis.
The referees are Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Nigel Owens (Wales), Dave Pearson (England), Romain Poite (France), Alain Rolland (Ireland) and Steve Walsh (Australia).
IRB Match Official Selection Committee is David Pickering, Chairman (Wales), Tappe Henning (South Africa), Kevin Bowring (England), Bob Francis (New Zealand), Stephen Hilditch (Ireland) and Michel Lamoulie (France). The IRB Referee Manager is Paddy O’Brien.
IRB Referee Manager Paddy O’Brien commented: “Our focus has been firmly on consistency, penalising the clear and obvious and tackling the ‘big five’ areas.
“The extensive performance review of all 40 matches included coach, match official and performance reviewer feedback, and we are very happy with the way that the group has worked together to collectively achieve the goals set.”
O’Brien continued: “Accuracy in decision-making is our top priority. We will continue to work as a unit to achieve the high standards that have collectively been set and maintain a zero-tolerance attitude towards infringements across the key areas of the game.
“In that regard, I would also like to thank the coaches for their buy-in to the process during this tournament.”
IRB Match Official Selection Committee Chairman David Pickering added: “This was a very tough selection process.
“The overall standard in performance has been exceptional and the team has achieved all that has been asked of them, and while it is inevitable that there are those who are unlucky to miss out on selection, I would like to thank all the referees, assistant referees and television match officials for their hard work, commitment and professionalism. They can be proud of playing their full part in contributing to what has been an exceptional Rugby World Cup.”
The RWC quarterfinal appointments:
Ireland vs Wales in Wellington
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes, Romain Poite
Television match official: Giulio De Santis
Assessor: Bob Francis
England vs France in Auckland
Referee: Steve Walsh
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland, George Clancy
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie
South Africa vs Australia in Wellington
Referee: Bryce Lawrence
Assistant referees: Dave Pearson, Romain Poite
Television match official: Giulio De Santis
Assessor: Tappe Henning
New Zealand vs Argentina in Auckland
Referee: Nigel Owens
Assistant referees: Jonathan Kaplan, George Clancy
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman
Assessor: Stephen Hilditch
* Assessment: All international match official performances are reviewed. This comprehensive process includes self assessment, with referees giving structured feedback on their individual performances, feedback from coaches, physical performance monitoring using GPS technology and review by the IRB Match Official Selection Committee.
* Physical Performance Review: The IRB Panel is subjected to year-round monitoring and assessment with physical performance an important criteria in the selection process to ensure the highest possible standards. After each match the data is downloaded into a web-based performance analysis system (Performance Profiler). This data is then made available to the referees and their conditioning coaches and from this training programmes can be adjusted to optimise physical performance and promote consistency across the panel.
