Irish Rugby : News : Lacey Selected For Junior World Championship Duty

Ireland pulled clear of hosts Canada with four tries in the closing half hour as they earned a 40-14 victory at the BMO Stadium on Saturday night. Check out some photos from the Toronto tussle.

The Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, to face tournament hosts France in Tuesday's 5th-8th place play-off at the IRB Junior World Championship has been named.

Fergus McFadden's desire to play international rugby on a regular basis was encapsulated by his last-minute try against Canada. The game was well won but Ireland wanted a sixth and final try and the in-form winger was only too happy to deliver, taking Paul Marshall's pass off a scrum and handing off Sean White to crash over in the left corner.

John Lacey is a former Munster full-back/winger who works now as a Coach Development Officer with the Munster branch.

The Tipperary man retired from rugby in 2007 and has since made rapid progress as a referee, from local level onto the international stage.

Lacey is a regular match official in the Magners League and European competitions and had assistant referee appointments in Rome and Edinburgh during this year's RBS 6 Nations.

The 37-year-old was a late call-up for the injured Greg Garner at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina and his impressive command saw him appointed to referee the semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa.

The premier international age grade tournament is a proven environment to test the skills of the very best in developing refereeing talent with New Zealand's Chris Pollock, France's Jérôme Garces and Carlo Damasco of Italy graduating from the 2009 tournament to be appointed assistant referees at this year's Rugby World Cup.

The class of 2011 includes features 12 officials who have impressed at other IRB tournaments and domestic or cross border club competitions.

The the full referees ranel is: JP Doyle (England), Greg Garner (England), Leighton Hodges (Wales), John Lacey (Ireland), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina), Neil Paterson (Scotland), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Mathieu Raynal (France) and Jonathon White (New Zealand). The Assistant Referees are Carlo Damasco (Italy), Marius Mitrea (Italy) and João Mourinha (Portugal).

The panel provides a blend of experience and newcomers with four officials - Doyle, Lacey, Pastrana and Peyper - returning to officiate at their second successive IRB Junior World Championship.

IRB Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien said: "It has been particularly pleasing in recent years to see the likes of Keith Brown, Andrew Small, Chris Pollock and Jérôme Garces graduate from the IRB Junior World Championship to win selection for the IRB High Performance match official panel.

"Officiating in international tournaments provides exposure to a best practice environment that furthers the development of our most talented young referees and provides us with an opportunity to identify and nurture the next group of Test officials."

Related Links -

Interested In Becoming A Referee?

2011 IRB Junior World Championship Match Officials

Lacey Continues Progress As Referee