Garces to officiate in two key All Blacks matches
FRENCH referee Jerome Garces will officiate the All Blacks’ two toughest matches at the Rugby Championship.
World Rugby announced the match official appointments for the tournament, with Garces, who was controversially involved in the All Blacks’ ‘non-penalty’ decision late in the third test against the British and Irish Lions, to rule over the All Blacks’ away matches against Australia and South Africa.
Assistant referee Garces is the man who convinced Romain Poite to change his decision on the penalty in the final minutes which could have won the Test and the series for the All Blacks.
Lions captain Sam Warburton has taken the credit for saying Ken Owens’ handling the ball in an offside position at Eden Park was accidental rather than deliberate, but a private conversation between Garces and countryman Poite, possibly in French, was decisive.
Poite, who made the controversial call late in the drawn third Test against the Lions, will be a touch judge for the Cape Town match.
However, he won’t referee any New Zealand fixture, instead controlling the opening-round Springboks-Pumas Test in Port Elizabeth.
Five of the All Blacks’ seven looming Tests will be officiated by Northern Hemisphere whistlers.
They get England’s Wayne Barnes twice, including for the third Bledisloe Cup Test, while refereeing record holder, Welshman Nigel Owens, takes charge of the game against South Africa on September 16. Refereeing schedule for 2017 Rugby Championship: August 19 Australia v NZ- Jerome Garces (France) SA v Argentina - Romain Poite (France) August 26 NZ v Australia - Wayne Barnes (England) Argentina v SA - Pascal Gauzere (France) September 9 NZ v Argentina - Angus Gardner (Australia) Australia v SA - Glen Jackson (NZ) September 16 Australia v Argentina - John Lacey (Ireland) NZ v SA - Nigel Owens (Wales) September 30 SA v Australia - Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) Argentina v NZ - Jaco Peyper (SA) October 7 SA v NZ - Jerome Garces (France) Argentina v Australia - Mathieu Raynal (France)