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Garces to ref Boks' RWC opener

Cape Town - The referees for the Springboks’ group games at this year’s Rugby World Cup have been revealed.

The Boks kick off their RWC challenge on September 19 against Japan at the Brighton Community Stadium, with Frenchman Jerome Garces the man in charge of match proceedings.

England’s Wayne Barnes will referee the Boks’ second match against Samoa at Villa Park in Birmingham on September 26, Wales’ Nigel Owens is on duty for their clash against Scotland at St James’ Park in Newcastle on October 3, while another Frenchman - Pascal Gauzere - will referee SA’s final Pool B match on October 7.

Meanwhile, South Africa's Jaco Peyper will have the honour of refereeing the opening match of the tournament as hosts England take on Fiji at Twickenham.

The six-week tournament takes place from September 18 to October 31 and will be hosted in 10 English cities and in Cardiff, Wales.

Peyper, who is 35-years-old and has refereed 20 internationals to date, will handle the RWC opener on Friday, September 18 in London and he will be joined by assistant referees John Lacey of Ireland and Stuart Berry also of SA. Another South African, Shaun Veldsman, will act as Television Match Official (TMO).

Peyper and compatriot Craig Joubert will both handle four matches during the pool stage. Berry, also, was handed four fixtures as assistant referee while Veldsman will adjudicate 10 matches as TMO.

Joubert’s first match in charge of the whistle is the clash between France and Italy on September 19 at Twickenham, a fixture where his countrymen Berry and Veldsman will also be on duty.

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