Match Official Appointments Made For RWC Pool Stages
Ireland’s George Clancy and John Lacey will both referee three matches during the pool stages of the upcoming Rugby World Cup. The match official appointments for the tournament’s opening games were announced by World Rugby today.
George Clancy will have the whistle for the Samoa v USA, Italy v Canada and Namibia v Georgia pool fixtures, while his IRFU international referee colleague John Lacey has been appointed to take charge of Scotland v Japan, Wales v Fiji and New Zealand v Tonga.
Lacey will also be involved in Rugby World Cup 2015’s opening match between hosts England and Fiji on Friday, September 18. He will be an assistant referee to South Africa’s Jaco Peyper.
The referees for Ireland’s four pool matches will be New Zealand’s Glen Jackson (Ireland v Canada, Millennium Stadium, Saturday, September 19), Craig Joubert from South Africa (Ireland v Romania, Wembley Stadium, Sunday, September 27), France’s Jérôme Garcès (Ireland v Italy, Olympic Stadium, Sunday, October 4) and Nigel Owens of Wales (France v Ireland, Millennium Stadium, Sunday, October 11).
Click here to view the match official appointments for the Rugby World Cup pool stages.
John Jeffrey, Chairman of the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee, said: “With just 79 days to go, the eyes of the sports-loving world are now turning towards the Rugby World Cup and as the players look forward to taking to the field in September, the same is true for the team of match officials. This is what they have been building up to over the past four years and their preparation has been excellent.
“Refereeing is a very demanding discipline, both physically and mentally, so just like the teams, they will have to be at the very top of their game if they are to feature in the closing stages of the tournament.
“The Rugby World Cup is the biggest stage of all in our game so for these match officials to have been selected in the first place is a great honour and a recognition of their talent, their hard work and their commitment. As such, they can all be very proud of their achievements and I wish them all every success during the tournament.”
The appointments for the knockout matches will be made after the pool stages.