Women refs for 6 Nations
The International Rugby Board has announced the referee appointments for the Women’s Six Nations Championship 2014.
Appointments were made by the IRB match official selection committee, following a detailed review of recent performances.
The Women’s Six Nations, which kicks off on 31 January 2014 and concludes on 16 March, will see nine referees take charge of 15 matches with Nicky Inwood, Helen O'Reilly, Claire Hodnett, Christine Bigaran, Sherry Trumbull and Leah Berard being appointed to two matches each.
England’s Claire Hodnett will referee the first game of the championship between defending champions Ireland and Scotland in Ashbourne, while Marlize Jordaan of South Africa will take charge of the final match, which will be between Italy and England in Milan.
The full list of referees for the Women’s Six Nations 2014 is: Jess Beard (New Zealand), Leah Berard (USA), Christine Bigaran (France), Claire Hodnett (England), Nicky Inwood (New Zealand), Marlize Jordaan (South Africa), Helen O'Reilly (Ireland), Amy Perrett (Australia) and Sherry Trumbull (Canada).
Referee preparation for the Six Nations championship included a three-day camp in Marcoussis, France, which is a host venue for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 in October.
The camp mirrored the gathering for their male counterparts held last August at the same venue. The schedule included a series of preparation sessions, ranging from the consistent management of the ‘crouch, bind, set’ scrum engagement trial to an extensive fitness monitoring programme.
The IRB women's match official selection committee is chaired by John Jeffrey and comprises Kat Todd (USA), Michel Lamoulie (France), Wayne Erickson (Australia), Bernd Gabbei (IRB) and IRB High Performance Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge.
Appointments
Round 1
31 January
Ireland vs Scotland in Ashbourne
Referee: Claire Hodnett
1 February
France vs England in Grenoble
Referee: Helen O'Reilly
2 February
Wales vs Italy in Port Talbot
Referee: Nicky Inwood
Round 2
7 February:
Ireland vs Wales in Ashbourne
Referee: Nicky Inwood
8 February:
France vs Italy at Rodez
Referee: Claire Hodnett
9 February:
Scotland vs England in Aberdeen
Referee: Christine Bigaran
Round 3
22 February:
England vs Ireland at Twickenham
Referee: Sherry Trumbull
23 February:
Wales vs France in Port Talbot
Referee: Helen O'Reilly
Italy vs Scotland in Caserta
Referee: Christine Bigaran
Round 4
7 March
England vs Wales at Twickenham Stoop
Referee: Jess Beard
8 March
Ireland vs Italy in Dublin
Referee: Leah Berard
9 March
Scotland vs France in Edinburgh
Referee: Amy Perrett
Round 5
14 March
France vs Ireland in Pau
Referee: Leah Berard
16 March
Wales vs Scotland in Port Talbot (Cardiff)
Referee: Sherry Trumbull
Italy vs England in Milan
Referee: Marlize Jordaan
The assistant referees will be from the host country.
From the IRB
