Referee Appointments Made For 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour
The live announcement of the British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia is now just a week away ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Referees from New Zealand, Italy, Georgia, and France will take charge of the British & Irish Lions’ upcoming matches, which begin with the 1888 Cup encounter with Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, June 20.
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World Rugby has confirmed the Emirates Match Official appointments for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, and a busy window of summer internationals. Click here to view the full list.
New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe will referee the Lions’ first Test against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, July 19, before Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli become the first Italian and Georgian respectively to oversee a Lions Test.
Piardi will have the whistle for the second Test between the Andy Farrell-coached Lions and the Wallabies in Melbourne on Saturday, July 26. Amashukeli has been appointed to referee the series closer in Sydney on Saturday, August 2.
James Doleman from New Zealand will kick off the Lions’ 2025 summer schedule by refereeing the 1888 Cup game in Dublin. The other referees set to be involved in the fixtures Down Under are Paul Williams (New Zealand) and Pierre Brousset (France).
British & Irish Lions head coach Farrell will unveil his squad for the 2025 tour at the O2 in London next Thursday (May 8). More than 2,000 Lions fans are set to be in attendance. Buy tickets to be at the squad announcement event, which will be shown live on YouTube.
As is normal for British and Irish Lions Test matches, selection of the match officials is based on experience, form, and the principle of neutrality.
World Rugby will also collaborate closely with all teams involved in the summer Test window 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.
Chair of the Emirates World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee, Su Carty, said: “With new global competitions to commence in 2026, our long-term focus continues to be on ensuring we have a widened pool of top level international match officials on the road to Rugby World Cups in the USA, and this selection represents that strategic ambition.
“I would like to congratulate and thank the match officials selected who earn their places on merit. I know how hard this group strives for excellence on and off the field, whether that be via rigorous performance review, fitness or culture, and we look forward to seeing them in action.”
World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Officials Manager, Joël Jutge, added: “Our collective focus continues to be on arriving at Australia 2027 with a team performing to its fullest potential, facilitating an exciting game for players and fans.
“The foundations are in place with the’‘critical few’, co-created and agreed with coaches in 2024 as performance indicators around speed, space, safety, scrum and lineout.
“We are collectively focused on consistent application, and the 2025 summer Tests represent another milestone on the road to Australia.”