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World Rugby has appointed referees for he 2018 June Internationals. In total have been made, including the matches involving Argentina, Canada and the USA. Yet to be confirmed are the officials for the Nations Cup in Uruguay.
Appointed for the matches are 29 referees and assistant referees as well as some 10 TMOs. The selections have been done so with a vision to RWC 2019 in Japan.
All officials in consideration for refereeing matches at RWC 2019 are realistically to blow the whistle in the June Internationals. The likelihood of an additional referee being used in Japan 2019 is extremely low.
The Americas will have two officials involved in the June Internationals. The leading referee from there Western Hemisphere is Federico Anselmi. The Argentine will be in charge of the USA vs Russia and will be an assistant for two other matches – the USA vs Scotland and Canada vs USA.
Apppointed one fixture is USA referee Derek Summers. He will be an assistant referee for Canada vs Scotland from Edmonton, Alberta on June 09.
There are to be a total of nine June Internationals’ matches played in the Americas this year. The first match will be South Africa vs Wales from Washington, D.C. No Americas official has been appointed to the match.
Argentina’s home matches against Wales are to be refereed by Andrew Brace of Ireland and Jaco Peyper of South Africa. Brace is unfamiliar to Los Pumas while Peyper is familiar with he having refereed Argentina’s home match against New Zealand in all but one edition of the Rugby Championship.
Argentina’s remaining June International is against Scotland. The venue is yet to be confirmed though the match will go ahead on June 23. The referee in charge is to be Frenchman Mathieu Raynal.
Canada’s home games are to be against Scotland, Russia and the USA in that order. A groundbreaking appointment sees Japan’s Shuhei Kubo taking charge of Canada vs Scotland. Ben Whitehouse (Wales) will referee the game against Russia while the battle of North America is to be officiated by Alexandre Ruiz of France.
One of the leading referees in the world is Englishman Wayne Barnes. He will take charge of the USA’s home match against Scotland in Houston, Texas on June 16. Anselmo and Kubo are to be Barnes’ assistants.
Among the appointments for matches not involving the Americas there are two notable matches. They are the RWC Play-Off Winner qualifying matches. Officially Spain is to face Portugal on April 04 with the winner meeting Samoa. Yet with the ongoing controversy the team to play remains unknown. Romania’s use of an ineligible player may yet see Romania disqualified from the RWC.
Game one of the Oceania vs Europe play-off will be in Europe. Refereeing the match is Matthew Carley. France’s Jérôme Garcès has been allocated game 2 in Apia.
Fiji and Tonga are set to play host to Romania in June. Meanwhile the USA and Canada both host Russia. Questions remain as to whether these matches are to, in fact, go ahead. World Rugby are to announce their decision on Belgium vs Spain tomorrow.
June 2
Fixture: South Africa vs Wales
Venue: Washington DC
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Alexandre Ruiz (France), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
June 09
Fixture: Argentina vs Wales
Venue: San Juan
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Fixture: Canada vs Scotland
Venue: Edmonton
Referee: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant Referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Derek Summers (USA)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Fixture: USA vs Russia
Venue: Denver
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
June 16
Fixture: Argentina vs Wales
Venue: Santa Fé
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Fixture: Canada vs Russia
Venue: tba
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Fixture: USA vs Scotland
Venue: Houston
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
June 23
Fixture: Argentina vs Scotland
Venue: tba
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Fixture: Canada vs USA
Venue: tba
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant Referees: Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Wayne Barnes (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
