WORLD RUGBY NAMES MATCH OFFICIALS
Sevens referee Rasta Rasivhenge and Craig Evans will be the Assistant Referees when the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians take on Uruguay at Hartpury College ground in Gloucester on November 17.
This was confirmed by World Rugby with the announcement of the match official appointments for a bumper programme of 45 men’s international matches during the November period. The match officials for the John McKee- coached Flying Fijians Tests are as follows;
■November 10 v Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (England), Assistant Referee 2: Karl Dickson (England), TMO- Ben Skeem (NZ)
■November 17 v Uruguay at Hartpury College ground in Gloucester, Referee: Tom Foley (England), Assistant Referee 1: Rasta Rasivhenge, Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (Wales), TMO-TBC
■November 24 v France at Stade de France, Paris. Referee: Matthew Carley (England), Assistant Referee 1: Tom Foley (England), Assistant Referee 2: Shuhei Kubo (Japan), TMO- Rowan Kitt (England)
With Rugby World Cup 2019 less than a year away, the matches provide important preparation for teams and match officials alike, and match official performances over the period will be taken into account when the World Rugby match officials selection ommittee meets to select the team for rugby’s showcase event. Selections have been made for the tier one hosted tests that will feature the revised Television Match Official trial, the all-important Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage in Marseille that will confirm the 20th and final team, and key World Rugby-supported fixtures within an unprecedented programme of November fixtures. Brendon Pickerill (NZR) will get a busy programme underway on October 26 when he takes charge of Japan’s match against a World XV in Hanazono, while Wayne Barnes will referee Ireland versus New Zealand in Dublin on November 17 – a match that sees the current top two ranked teams go head to head. Other highlights include Karl Dickson (RFU) making his senior international debut when he referees Georgia versus Samoa in Tbilisi, while experienced referees Wayne Barnes (RFU), Pascal Gauzere (FFR), Jaco Peyper (SARU), Angus Gardner (Rugby Australia), Romain Poite (FFR) and Luke Pearce (RFU) will take charge of the Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage matches in Marseille.
On the road to Rugby World Cup 2019, the match officials will gather in London for a preparation camp prior to the November Tests. World Rugby hosts two main camps a year where the officials can align and calibrate approach as a group and also with team coaches. WR match officials selection committee chair Anthony Buchanan said: There is less than a year to go until Rugby World Cup and, like the teams, we are a focused on arriving at Japan 2019 with a team of match officials who are in the form of their lives from a performance, fitness and mindset perspective. “We have a very talented group to choose from. They work exceptionally well together behind the scenes to strive for the collective goal of clear, accurate and consistent decision-making, and that has been very evident both in the camps that we have hosted and recent performances on the field. “This November selection provides another opportunity to assess performance in a high-intensity team camp environment that is not dissimilar to a Rugby World Cup which will further inform us as to who is in the frame for RWC 2019.”
WR High Performance 15s match official manager Alain Rolland added: “The match official appointment process identifies and rewards the top performing match officials and all performances are thoroughly reviewed to ensure clear and consistent decision-making across the group.
“As a part of the process, we also hold regular consultation with team coaches, including participation in our preparation camps where we achieve alignment on focus areas. This approach is valued by both the match officials and coaches alike.”
A revised TMO protocol trial will operate during the tier one union hosted test matches in November with the ambition of lessening time impact and placing greater decision-making responsibility on the referee and assistant referee team, while supporting accuracy of decisions.