ABS will miss Poite rendezvous
The All Blacks will have French referee Jerome Garces officiating their two toughest matches at the Rugby Championship.
World Rugby announced the match official appointments for the tournament on Tuesday morning, with Garces, who officiated their second test loss to the British and Irish Lions, to rule over their away matches against Australia and South Africa.
That includes their tournament opener in Sydney on August 19 and tournament closer in Cape Town on October 7.
Garces sent off Sonny Bill Williams in the 24-21 loss to the Lions at Westpac Stadium on July 1, while also awarding the Lions a controversial match-winning penalty late in the match.
There was some good news though, with the All Blacks avoiding third test referee Romain Poite – the man who infamously changed his penalty decision late in the 15-15 draw on Saturday at Eden Park.
Poite does get one chance in the middle for South Africa’s match against Argentina on August 19, but will be restricted to flag waving for two other matches.
New Zealand will have another controversial figure from their history for their two other Bledisloe Cup matches against Australia as Englishman Wayne Barnes blows the whistle at both Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on August 26 and Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on October 21. Barnes was the referee who missed a forward pass during the 2007 World Cup quarterfinal loss to France.