Frenchman to ref Boks v All Blacks at World Cup

Cape Town - The Springboks' pool matches at the Rugby World Cup will be handled exclusively by French and English referees, World Rugby’s appointment schedule revealed on Friday.

Two Frenchmen and two Englishmen will be in charge of South Africa’s four Pool B matches in Japan in September and October.

Frenchman Jerome Garces will referee the game against New Zealand in Yokohama on September 21. He will be assisted by countryman Romain Poite and England's Karl Dickson, with another Englishman Graham Hughes the television match official (TMO).

Frenchman Mathieu Raynal will referee the game against Namibia in Toyota on September 28. Raynal will be assisted by Australia's Nic Berry and Ireland's Andrew Brace, with Hughes again the TMO.

England's Wayne Barnes will referee the match against Italy in Shizuoka on October 4. Barnes will be assisted by French duo Poite and Alex Ruiz, with England's Rowan Kitt the TMO.

England's Luke Pearce will referee the match against Canada in Kobe on October 8. Pearce will be assisted by Br ace and Australia's Angus Gardner, with Kitt against the TMO.

Pearce and Raynal are among five referees making their first appearance at a Rugby World Cup, while South Africa’s Jaco Peyper will mark a major milestone when he takes charge of Japan v Samoa at the City of Toyota Stadium on October 5. Should he referee all scheduled Test matches prior to the match, Peyper will make his 50th Test appearance.

Peyper will also take charge of matches between Argentina and Tonga and England and France.

All match officials have been appointed to at least three pool matches and with matches taking place across 12 venues the length and breadth of Japan, the appointments reflect the need for optimal load management, including preparation, travel and recovery time said World Rugby in a statement.

The appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee comprising chairperson Anthony Buchanan (council member), Joel Jutge (EPCR), Lyndon Bray (SANZAAR), Nick Mallett (former international coach) and Alain Rolland (World Rugby).

With global excitement building ahead of #RWC2019, World Rugby has announced the match official appointments for the 40 matches that comprise the tournament’s pool stage #Team21

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— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) July 19, 2019