Injured French ref out of All Blacks Tests

Cape Town - Jérôme Garcès has withdrawn from the upcoming Rugby Championship Tests between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney and Dunedin, due to injury.

The Frenchman was selected to referee the first game on Saturday and perform the role of assistant referee for the second but he sustained a calf strain while refereeing last weekend.

Garcès will be replaced for the game in Sydney this Saturday by Wayne Barnes of England with Wales' Nigel Owens coming in as assistant referee.

The following week, Barnes will perform the role of assistant referee with Owens taking over refereeing duties.

Garcès, who has refereed a total of 38 Tests to date, is still expected to be fit for his two other appointments in the Championship, when he will be assistant referee for South Africa v Australia in Bloemfontein on 30 September and referee for South Africa v New Zealand in Cape Town on October 7.