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Spreadbury starts World Cup

By
Thursday 26 Apr 2007

Tony Spreadbury of England will blow to kick off the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He is one of 12 referees appointed to referee the matches at the World Cup and will referee the opening match – France versus Argentina at Stade de France.

The International Rugby Board has published the names of the 12 referees and the 13 touch judges to officiate at the World Cup to be hosted by France.

In total seven nations are represented on the panel of referees with three referees – Wayne Barnes (England), Nigel Owens (Wales) and Marius Jonker (South Africa) – making their Rugby World Cup debut in France, while Stuart Dickinson, Paul Honiss, Jonathan Kaplan, Steve Walsh and Chris White will be attending their third Rugby World Cup.

The IRB Referees Manager, Paddy O’Brien, said: “The IRB Match Official Selection Committee was delighted by the standard of match officials available for selection for Rugby World Cup 2007. While inevitably there are those who are unlucky to miss out on selection, it is really exciting to see the likes of Wayne Barnes, Nigel Owens and Marius Jonker all included within a Rugby World Cup referees panel for the first time on merit.”

In addition to the panel of 12 Rugby World Cup referees, 13 specialist touch judges have been selected who will assist during the tournament’s pool stages. All ten Tier 1 nations are represented within the selection, which includes Argentina’s Federico Cuesta and Italy’s Carlo Damasco. From the quarter-finals onwards the referees will act as both referees and touch judges.

The match officials for the 2007 Rugby World Cup are:

Referees:

Wayne Barnes (England)
Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Joel Jutge (France)
Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Tony Spreadbury (England)
Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Chris White (England)

Touch judges:

Christophe Berdos (France)
Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Federico Cuesta (Argentina)
Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Paul Marks (Australia)

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