- Officials drawn from nine unions
- All 15 games refereed by neutral female only on-field officials
- McLachlan and Mahoney to make Six Nations debuts
World Rugby has announced the referees, assistant referees and television match officials for the Women’s Six Nations 2020. This period is a crucial window as all those involved look to perform at their best with less than two years until Rugby World Cup 2021 kicks off in New Zealand.
The 2020 6 Nations will include officials from nine member unions and for the first time in the history of the Women’s Six Nations, all 15 games will be overseen by a neutral, female only team of three on-field officials.
Among the list of nine referees, Amber McLachlan (Australia) and Rebecca Mahoney (New Zealand) will make their Six Nations debuts. They’ll take charge of England v Wales at The Stoop on 7 March and Ireland v Italy in Dublin on 8 March respectively.
Sara Cox (England), the most senior referee in the squad, will bring her experience and officiate on the first weekend in Cardiff for Wales v Italy. Aurélie Groizeleau (France) has one of the busiest tournaments being involved in four games, two as referee and two as an assistant referee.
The 2020 referees’ squad is completed by Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Clara Munarini (Italy), Joy Neville (Ireland) and Nikki O’Donnell (England).
All referees officiating in the Women’s Six Nations 2020 have taken charge of test matches throughout 2019, including at the Women’s Rugby Super Series, Africa and Oceania Rugby World Cup 2021 qualifiers and during the November test window.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont (pic right) said, “The Women’s Six Nations Championship will kick-start a new decade that we hope will see continued and unprecedented growth in women’s rugby.
“With our strong focus on developing women in rugby across the game it is very pleasing that we have been able to appoint female only teams of three on-field match officials for all 15 of the Women’s Six Nations games.”
“The match officials are continuing their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2021 and I’m confident this squad has got an excellent balance of youth and experience to deliver a very successful tournament.”
Alain Rolland, World Rugby 15s High Performance Match Official Manager added, ‘”There has been incredible work done bringing this team of match officials to the best-possible level and we believe they are in very good shape less than two years away from New Zealand 2021.
“They are a dedicated group with high standards, and we are excited to see new referees coming from our high-performance programmes and other women’s competitions making it to test level.
“Our goal is always clear, consistent and accurate decision-making and while there is no change in emphasis, we will continue to work closely with teams to ensure the best-possible experience for players and fans.
“Special congratulations go to Amber McLachlan and Rebecca Mahoney for their first Six Nations refereeing appointments.”
Women’s Six Nations 2020 – Appointments
Ireland v Scotland
2 Feb 2020, 1.00pm
Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (France)
ARs: Clara Munarini (Italy) & Doriane Domenjo (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Wales v Italy
2 Feb 2020, 1.00pm
Referee: Sara Cox (England)
ARs: Nikki O’Donnell (England) & Katherine Ritchie (RFU)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
France v England
2 Feb 2020, 1.30pm
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
ARs: Joy Neville (Ireland) & Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
France v Italy
8 Feb 2020, 8.00pm
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
ARs: Nikki O’Donnell (England) & Katherine Ritchie (England)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Scotland v England
9 Feb 2020, 12.10pm
Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy)
ARs: Aurelie Groizeleau (France) & Maria Giovanna Pacifico (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Ireland v Wales
9 Feb 2020, 1.00pm
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
ARs: Laura Pettingale (RFU) & Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Wales v France
23 Feb 2020, 12.00pm
Referee: Nikki O’Donnell (England)
ARs: Laura Pettingale (RFU) & Clare Daniels (England)
TMO: Claire Hodnett (England)
England v Ireland
23 Feb 2020, 12.45pm
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
ARs: Clara Munarini (Italy) & Maria Giovanna Pacifico (Italy)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Italy v Scotland
23 Feb 2020, 6.10pm
Referee: Joy Neville (Ireland)
ARs: Aurelie Groizeleau (France) & Doriane Domenjo (France)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
England v Wales
7 Mar 2020, 12.05pm
Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
ARs: Clara Munarini (Italy) & Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Scotland v France
7 Mar 2020, 7.45pm
Referee: Sara Cox (England)
ARs: Nikki O’Donnell (England) & Clare Daniels (England)
TMO: Alan Falzone (Italy)
Ireland v Italy
8 Mar 2020, 1.00pm
Referee: Rebecca Mahoney (New Zealand)
ARs: Hollie Davidson (Scotland) & Francesca Martin (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
Wales v Scotland
15 Mar 2020, 1.10pm
Referee: Rebecca Mahoney (New Zealand)
ARs: Laura Pettingale (RFU) & Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Claire Hodnett (England)
Italy v England
15 Mar 2020, 2.30pm
Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (France)
ARs: Hollie Davidson (Scotland) & Doriane Domenjo (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
France v Ireland
15 Mar 2020, 4.35pm
Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
ARs: Sara Cox (England) & Francesca Martin (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
