- 26 officials from 10 unions involved in the 12 matches
World Rugby have unveiled the referees, ARs and TMOs for the upcoming 2022 The Rugby Championship.
Coming soon after the close of the summer international window, there’s many familiar faces in the list. Once again, there’s valuable big-match game time for some of the newer referees at this level – Mike Adamson, Nika Amashukeli, James Doleman and Damon Murphy picking up games.
Adamson becomes the first Scottish ref since Jim Fleming in 1999 to oversee a Rugby Championship/Tri Nations match, and in line with his other ‘firsts’, Amashukeli becomes the first Georgian to do the same. Mathieu Raynal returns to TRC action for the first time since 2018. There’s a game for most of the usual suspects as well.
For those looking for missing names – Wayne Barnes, Matthew Carley and Jaco Peyper all miss out, maybe managing workload with all three being on long distance travels in recent weeks. They probably also don’t need the run out as much as the new names.
World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee Chairman, Graham Mourie said, “We have a group of very committed match officials who, like players, continually work on their game through a robust, team-driven 360 degree review process.
“As we move closer to France 2023, we are growing as a team and the focus continues to be on consistent officiating of the clear and obvious with a particular emphasis on safety, speed and space.”
The Rugby Championship 2022 Match Official Appointments
Round 1 – Sat 6 Aug 2022
South Africa v New Zealand
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
ARs: Luke Pearce (RFU) & Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
Argentina v Australia
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
ARs: Karl Dickson (RFU) & Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Van Der Westhuizen (SARU)
Round 2 – Sat 13 Aug 2022
South Africa v New Zealand
Referee: Luke Pearce(RFU)
ARs: Angus Gardner (RA) & Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
Argentina v Australia
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
ARs: Mike Adamson (SRU) & Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Van Der Westhuizen (SARU)
Round 3 – Sat 27 Aug 2022
New Zealand v Argentina
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
ARs: Nic Berry (RA) & Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Australia v South Africa
Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
ARs: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR) & Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
Round 4 – Sat 3 Sept 2022
New Zealand v Argentina
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
ARs: Nika Amashukeli (GRU) & Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Australia v South Africa
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
ARs: Paul Williams (NZR) & Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
Round 5
Australia v New Zealand (Thurs 15 Sept)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
ARs: Andrew Brace (IRFU) & Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Argentina v South Africa (Sat 17 Sept)
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
ARs: Damon Murphy (RA) & Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Chris Hart (NZR)
Round 6 – Sat 24 Sept 2022
New Zealand v Australia
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
ARs: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) & Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
South Africa v Argentina
Referee: Damon Murphy (RA)
ARs: Frank Murphy (IRFU) & Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Chris Hart (NZR)
