Brace And Cross Set To Referee Summer Tests
Eoghan Cross will be on duty this weekend as an assistant referee for the Investec Champions Cup semi-final between Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Two of the IRFU High Performance referees, Andrew Brace and Eoghan Cross, have been appointed to take charge of Men’s Test matches during the upcoming summer international window.
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World Rugby will collaborate closely with all teams involved in the Tests between June and August to ensure an aligned and positive approach to the match officials/coaches’ relationship.
Twenty-seven of the 38 games between June 20 and August 2 are Test fixtures, with 24 referees from 11 nations set to referee these matches across World Rugby’s six regional associations.
Eight years on from his Test debut as a referee, Brace will referee two of Italy’s summer games when they take on Namibia in Windhoek on Friday, June 27, and World champions South Africa in Gqeberha on Saturday, July 12.
It has been another busy season for the Old Crescent clubman, coming off the back of his 100th United Rugby Championship match as a referee, and his sixth Men’s Six Nations Championship with the whistle in hand.
He is in Bordeaux this weekend to oversee the all-French Investec Champions Cup semi-final between Bordeaux Bègles and Toulouse, with Cross as one of his assistant referees.
Brace, who has refereed a total of 35 Tests to date, will also be an assistant referee for the series opener between South Africa and Italy in Pretoria on Saturday, July 5.
Limerick native Cross has a number of appointments Stateside in July, culminating in him overseeing the final match of England’s summer tour against the USA at Washington DC’s Audi Field on Saturday, July 19.
The 33-year-old has refereed five Tests to date, and made his Champions Cup refereeing debut in January before operating as an assistant referee for the Italy v France and France v Scotland fixtures during this year’s Men’s Six Nations.
Ahead of taking charge of the USA-England clash, Cross will be on duty as an assistant for the England XV v France XV encounter in Twickenham on Saturday, June 21, and then the USA’s two meetings with Belgium and Spain in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Meanwhile, at the same time, an Ireland Men’s squad, led by interim head coach Paul O’Connell, will be on tour in Europe. They are set to play Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, July 5, and Portugal in Lisbon the following Saturday.
For the opening match against the 11th-ranked Georgians, Italian referee Andrea Piardi will have the whistle. England’s Adam Leal has been appointed to referee the second game against the Portuguese side.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Olly Hodges will be the TMO for the two Tests involving Argentina and England in July, and Leo Colgan is the appointed TMO for next week’s Pacific Four Series showdown between the Australia and New Zealand Women’s teams in Newcastle.