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Cape Town - Five South African match officials have been appointed to do duty in next season’s Six Nations, which kicks off on the first weekend of February 2016.
Jaco Peyper has been appointed to referee France against Ireland in Paris (Saturday, February 13) and Italy against Scotland in Rome (Saturday, February 27).
Craig Joubert will head to Twickenham to referee England against Wales (Saturday, March 12), while he has been appointed as assistant referee in the match between Ireland and Scotland in Dublin (Saturday, March 19).
Peyper is one of three referees - the others are Glen Jackson of New Zealand and France's Romain Poite - who have received two appointments each with a total of 12 referees involved.
Stuart Berry and Marius van der Westhuizen have both been appointed as assistant referees in two matches, while Shaun Veldsman will be the television match official in three matches.
Apart from South Africa, France also has five match officials on the roster for the Six Nations, while New Zealand and England have four each, and Ireland, Wales and Australia two each.
Appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee at its recent meeting in London and follow a detailed review of all performances during the Rugby World Cup.
The selection system allows for movement in and out of the panel based on form and rewards the top performers and young referees who have graduated through the performance pathway. Every performance is closely scrutinised and reviewed to ensure accountability. In addition, there is regular consultation with coaches with their feedback helping to inform selection decisions.
The selection committee is chaired by John Jeffrey and comprises former elite referees Lyndon Bray (SANZAR), Andrew Cole (SANZAR), Donal Courtney (European Rugby Champions Cup), Clayton Thomas (Six Nations) and World Rugby High Performance Match Officials Manager Joel Jutge.
The committee meets four times a year and makes selections for the next international window with all performances reviewed in advance of selection.
