2017 Women’s 6 Nations referees announced

The match official appointments for the Women’s RBS 6 Nations 2017 have been unveiled.

The championship opener between Scotland and Ireland on 3 February will be refereed by Aimee Barrett of South Africa (pictured) with Ireland’s Joy Neville taking charge of the last match, on 8 March between France and Wales.

Panel of 15 appointed

A total of 15 referees, male and female, will referee the matches. They include World Rugby Referee Award-winner for 2016 Spain’s Alhambra Nievas, who will take charge of the Ireland v England game in Dublin on 17 March. As usual, the appointments for the 15 championship fixtures feature a blend of northern and southern hemisphere match officials.  Experienced referees, Leah Berard, Sherry Trumbull and Jess Beard, have all retired this year, so World Rugby have included some male referees to the list for the coming championship – most of whom have progressed from the mens U20s World Cup earlier this year.

World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee Chairman Anthony Buchanan said, “With Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 now very much on the horizon, we are conscious of further developing our elite female referees as we prepare for that tournament in Ireland.

“Similarly, the male officials are refereeing professional rugby week in, week out and we are confident they will successfully meet the challenges presented by the Women’s Six Nations. As always, our focus continues to be clear and consistent decision-making and the highest standards of physical conditioning.”

The World Rugby Women’s Match Official Selection Committee, is chaired by Anthony Buchanan and also includes Wayne Erickson, Kat Todd, Robert Davies and World Rugby High Performance Match Officials Manager Alain Rolland.