- 12 Referees announced – Australia, England, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales all represented with a whistle
- Six referees on Rugby World Cup refereeing debut
- Barnes and Owens at 4th RWC
- Panel of seven Assistant Referees and four TMOs
- No Irish referees for first time at a Rugby World Cup – Brace goes as AR
- 13 northern hemisphere v 11 southern hemisphere in squad
- Download the RugbyReferee.net RWC Referees guide now – www.rugbyreferee.net/rwc19
World Rugby have announced the panel of referees, assistant referees and television match officials for the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2019.
Welshman Nigel Owens and England’s Wayne Barnes will be appearing at their fourth Rugby World Cups.
Of the 14 referees used in the Guinness Six Nations, England’s Matthew Carley and Kiwi, Glen Jackson are the two to miss out on referee selection, although Carley will go as an assistant referee.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said, “Just like for the players and coaches, Rugby World Cup represents the pinnacle of a match official’s career and I would like to congratulate the team of 12 referees, seven assistant referees and four TMOs who have achieved selection today through their hard work, commitment and dedication to excellence.
“Put simply, without the match officials there would be no rugby and I am proud of the leading position that our sport enjoys in terms of the mutual respect and values displayed between match officials, players and all those involved in the game.”
Anthony Buchanan, World Rugby’s Match Official Selection Committee Chairman, added: “This selection was made on merit, on form and after a comprehensive process. With so much strength in depth, the panel was left with some tough decisions to be made across all areas. I would like to pay tribute to all the individuals involved in the process and congratulate the ‘Team 21’ squad who have been selected for Japan 2019.
“Since Rugby World Cup 2015, we have been focused on developing a strong team ethic among the group of match officials while bringing through the next generation of test officials with regular meetings and workshops to share best practice and experiences. The group selected for Rugby World Cup 2019 contains a strong mix of experience and proven young talent and we have every confidence that they will be well prepared and ready to perform at the highest possible level at Japan 2019.”
Rugby World Cup referees
- Nigel Owens (47), Wales – 87 tests
- Wayne Barnes (39), England – 83 tests
- Romain Poite (43), France – 62 tests
- Jerome Garces (45), France – 47 tests
- Jaco Peyper (38), South Africa – 46 tests
- Pascal Gauzere (41), France – 39 tests
- Mathieu Raynal (37), France – 22 tests
- Angus Gardner (34), Australia – 20 tests
- Luke Pearce (31) England- 20 tests
- Ben O’Keeffe (30), New Zealand – 14 tests
- Nic Berry (35), Australia – 12 tests
- Paul Williams (33), New Zealand – 10 tests
Assistant referees
- Brendan Pickerill (29), New Zealand
- Matt Carley (34), England
- Karl Dickson (36), England
- Andrew Brace (30), Ireland
- Shuhei Kubo (37), Japan
- Federico Anselmi (36), Argentina
- Alexandre Ruiz (32), France
Television Match Officials
- Marius Jonker, South Africa
- Ben Skeen, New Zealand
- Rowan Kitt, England
- Graham Hughes, England