RWC Match Officials Announced

https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/419165

Referees (12): Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England), Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gaüzère (France), Mathieu Raynal (France), Nigel Owens (Wales), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand), Nic Berry (Australia) and Angus Gardner (Australia) – 457 tests as referees

Assistant referees (seven): Matthew Carley (England, reserve referee), Karl Dickson (England), Andrew Brace (Ireland), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Shuhei Kubo (Japan) and Alex Ruiz (France) – 130 tests as assistant referees

TMOs (four): Graham Hughes (England), Rowan Kitt (England), Ben Skeen (New Zealand) and Marius Jonker (South Africa) – 217 tests as TMOs

I see Karl Dickson will be on the touchline. People who bemoan officiating standards in the Pro14, will notice that the league will only be represented by Nigel Owens as a ref, and Andrew Brace as an assistant ref.

So are France considered the most 'neutral' rugby playing nation in the world simply because they can confuse both teams with broken English directions?

I wouldn't have included Owens myself. He is getting worse all the time. The French refs are very good.

Rugby Fan wrote:https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/419165

Referees (12): Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England), Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gaüzère (France), Mathieu Raynal (France), Nigel Owens (Wales), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand), Nic Berry (Australia) and Angus Gardner (Australia) – 457 tests as referees

Assistant referees (seven): Matthew Carley (England, reserve referee), Karl Dickson (England), Andrew Brace (Ireland), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Shuhei Kubo (Japan) and Alex Ruiz (France) – 130 tests as assistant referees

TMOs (four): Graham Hughes (England), Rowan Kitt (England), Ben Skeen (New Zealand) and Marius Jonker (South Africa) – 217 tests as TMOs

I see Karl Dickson will be on the touchline. People who bemoan officiating standards in the Pro14, will notice that the league will only be represented by Nigel Owens as a ref, and Andrew Brace as an assistant ref.

That's Andrew Brace, who on Saturday gave a knock on that didn't involve the ball hitting the ground or another player

Collapse2005 wrote:I wouldn't have included Owens myself. He is getting worse all the time. The French refs are very good.

Seriously?

Ah yeah. No one is perfect though. I used to think Owens was great but he has got worse and worse over the years to the point I cant see why people still rate him. I also used to like Gardener but he does have the odd howler as do most refs to be fair.

Too many French in that line up. They’re flaky like their national team and aren’t up to it in pressure situations.

There's always going to be mistakes and people will focus on them in big games or moments. Poite is an excellent ref but he did get that big decision wrong in the last min of the lions series where both he and his tmo missed Read being offside which almost led to a penalty.
Still the key thing for me is communication. You can forgive most things if the ref explains what he sees and why he's made the decision. That list is pretty good

ebop wrote:Too many French in that line up. They’re flaky like their national team and aren’t up to it in pressure situations.

This

Ben O'Keeffe has had his fair share of criticism in Super Rugby

Collapse2005 wrote:Ah yeah. No one is perfect though. I used to think Owens was great but he has got worse and worse over the years to the point I cant see why people still rate him. I also used to like Gardener but he does have the odd howler as do most refs to be fair.

I think Owens still allows the game to flow and is more consistent than most, agree re Gardner but sorry guys like Poite and Garces are just Lacey and Clancy with different accents

I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Rugby Fan wrote:I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Joy Neville ahead of 90% of the list

marty2086 wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Ah yeah. No one is perfect though. I used to think Owens was great but he has got worse and worse over the years to the point I cant see why people still rate him. I also used to like Gardener but he does have the odd howler as do most refs to be fair.

I think Owens still allows the game to flow and is more consistent than most, agree re Gardner but sorry guys like Poite and Garces are just Lacey and Clancy with different accents

I have no issues with Garces and Poite, they have their idiosyncrasies but at least they are predictable and Ireland tends to do will when they ref for that reason.

marty2086 wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Joy Neville ahead of 90% of the list

What? Why? How many games has she reffed, like 1 pro 14 game and 0 top level internationals?

Collapse2005 wrote:

marty2086 wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Joy Neville ahead of 90% of the list

What? Why? How many games has she reffed, like 1 pro 14 game and 0 top level internationals?

She's a different class to them, shes reffed a World Cup Final how many others have?

marty2086 wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:

marty2086 wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Joy Neville ahead of 90% of the list

What? Why? How many games has she reffed, like 1 pro 14 game and 0 top level internationals?

She's a different class to them, shes reffed a World Cup Final how many others have?

A mickey mouse world cup final. Sorry but women's rugby simply is not the same level as the men's game, very different animal. It wouldn't even be on a par with reffing a Pro 14 quarter final.

Are you just attempting to be inclusive and progressive or do you really think she is that good (even without much evidence)?

Give her a couple of seasons as a fully fledged pro 14 ref and see how she gets on and if she does well by all means sign her up for the next RWC.

Collapse2005 wrote:

marty2086 wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:

marty2086 wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:I see a lot of complaints about some of the individuals in that list but no-one has so far suggested any names to take their places.

Joy Neville ahead of 90% of the list

What? Why? How many games has she reffed, like 1 pro 14 game and 0 top level internationals?

She's a different class to them, shes reffed a World Cup Final how many others have?

A mickey mouse world cup final. Sorry but women's rugby simply is not the same level as the men's game, very different animal. It wouldn't even be on a par with reffing a Pro 14 quarter final.

In what way?

Women's rugby is barely professional. The standard is shocking, attendances are very low, media focus is comparatively low albeit probably more prominent than it deserves. By her own omission its also easier reffing the women's game because they cheat less which is probably a result of it not being fully professional. Women are also potentially less aggressive so probably probably less likely to descend into chaos.

As such it simply isn't the same beast as reffing a top mens match. That said Im all for giving her the chance to earn her stripes in the Pro14.

That must be why she won World Referee of the Year

marty2086 wrote:That must be why she won World Referee of the Year

Ah come on, its obvious she won it because world rugby were trying to be all inclusive and progressive. You really think she is the best ref in the world?

Collapse2005 wrote:

marty2086 wrote:That must be why she won World Referee of the Year

Ah come on, its obvious she won it because world rugby were trying to be all inclusive and progressive. You really think she is the best ref in the world?

Having seen her ref at different levels and run the line numerous times too, I genuinely think she's up there and puts plenty to shame. Her communication is excellent, her positioning is great and she makes very few mistakes

Think it was the Ulster Leinster game she was AR for last week, you can hear here throughout the game talking to Clancy. Would have much preferred her in the middle

Well maybe she does deserve to ref more pro 14 games but I don't think she should get the RWC yet on merit.

As an AR it shouldn't be too big a stretch for her at the RWC but she should be ahead of plenty of the current crop for Pro14 games

I would have liked Craig Maxwell-Keys to get a AR role, he's quite young but it would have been a good experience for him.

Assuming that England don't make the final I'd say Wayne Barnes is going to get that.

No Ben Whitehouse?! What a travesty!

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:No Ben Whitehouse?! What a travesty!

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:No Ben Whitehouse?! What a travesty!

There was only medium support for him to go to the RWC

Irish Londoner wrote:I would have liked Craig Maxwell-Keys to get a AR role, he's quite young but it would have been a good experience for him.

Assuming that England don't make the final I'd say Wayne Barnes is going to get that.

Id say you will get one of those predictions right

Well owens gets to bow out at the top from a world.cup perspective then.

Collapse2005 wrote:

Irish Londoner wrote:I would have liked Craig Maxwell-Keys to get a AR role, he's quite young but it would have been a good experience for him.

Assuming that England don't make the final I'd say Wayne Barnes is going to get that.

Id say you will get one of those predictions right

Would be a shame for Barnes !

It might be unfair to single out Angus Gardner, but I hope his bosses get him to address one aspect of his game management. He regularly seems to ignore the fact he might be dealing with non-native English speakers. It's not his accent, so much as his word choice, use of slang, and tempo. I recall one match when the French definitely suffered a breakdown in communication. It just seems like something which could be rectified very quickly, without affecting the overall way he referees. All the more important at a World Cup, where there'll be a wider range of languages spoken.

That's always annoying to see, and not just in rugby. I remember the BBC using David Ginola as a pundit years ago, and Gary Lineker asked him if something or other (I can't remember what) was a case of 'cutting off your nose to spite your face'. Ginola had no idea what he was talking about, and looked quite alarmed, which is what you'd expect if someone suddenly started talking about mutilation at half time.

Shame there is no Glen Jackson, I've always enjoyed his style of officiating.

Glenn Jackson had pre-empted this by having his hissy fit over the weekend. He suggested he would quit reffing and maybe take up coaching.

Can't we just do without the refs? It's 2019 for crying out loud!

NZ coverage surprised that Jackson was ommitted but think it was down to his age, with World Rugby preferring some younger officials.

Jackson turns 44 at the World Cup. The other match referees will be this age:

Wayne Barnes (40), Luke Pearce (33), Jérôme Garcès (46), Romain Poite (44), Pascal Gaüzère (42), Mathieu Raynal (38), Nigel Owens (48), Jaco Peyper (39), Ben O’Keeffe (30), Paul Williams (34), Nic Berry (35) and Angus Gardner (35)

Owens is still refereeing as he approaches 50 but Wayne Barnes' decision to retire at 40 might have given World Rugby pause for thought, especially after Craig Joubert retired at 41. Four of those refs probably won't be at the next tournament, and it could be as many as seven. Jackson might just be unlucky in that he's older, but started his career too late to be considered for the last World Cup, so misses out on officiating in the premier international competition.

[EDIT: Ignore that, Jackson did referee at the 2015 tournament]

Interesting, he doesn’t look older than the rest.

Hopefully this is world rugby waking up to the reality that Glen Jackson is a poor official and I'm glad he won't be reffing at this tournament. Ben O'Keeffe might actually be worse though. That performance he gave in Wales vs Australia was wrong and showed nothing but contempt for the opposition of his antipodean cousins. These pair of disgraceful referees should never ever ref at this level again.