Nigel Owens to referee World Cup opener

Nigel Owens will take charge of the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2019 when Japan plays Russia in Tokyo. The 48-year-old Welshman refereed the 2015 World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia. This will be his fourth World Cup tournament, following which Owens has stated he will retire from international officiating.

Argentina’s Federico Anselmi is the only match official from the Americas included. He has been appointed as an assistant for six matches including: Italy vs Namibia (Osaka), England vs USA (Kobe), Scotland vs Samoa (Kobe), Japan vs Samoa (Tokyo), Scotland vs Russia (Shizuoka), and Namibia vs Canada (Kamaishi).

Match official appointments for all pool matches involving the Americas can be seen below. A complete list of appointments can be seen here.

 

POOL B

ITALY vs CANADA
September 26, Fukuoka
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Assistants: Wayne Barnes (RFU) & Karl Dickson (RFU)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

NEW ZEALAND vs CANADA
October 2, Oita
Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
Assistants: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR) & Alex Ruiz (FFR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

SOUTH AFRICA vs CANADA
October 8, Kobe
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistants: Angus Gardner (ARU) & Andrew Brace (IRFU)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

NAMIBIA vs CANADA
October 13, Kamaishi
Referee: Paul Williams (NZRU)
Assistants: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR) & Federico Anselmi (UAR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

 

POOL C

FRANCE vs ARGENTINA
September 21, Tokyo
Referee: Angus Gardner (ARU)
Assistants: Jaco Peyper (SARU) & Brendon Pickerill (NZRU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

ENGLAND vs USA
September 26, Kobe
Referee: Nic Berry (ARU)
Assistants: Paul Williams (NZRU) & Federico Anselmi (UAR)
TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)

ARGENTINA vs TONGA
September 28, Osaka
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistants: Ben O’Keeffe (NZRU) & Brendon Pickerill (NZRU)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

FRANCE vs USA
October 2, Fukuoka
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZRU)
Assistants: Wayne Barnes (RFU) & Shuhei Kubo (JRFU)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

ENGLAND vs ARGENTINA
October 5, Tokyo
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Assistants: Angus Gardner (ARU) & Andrew Brace (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

ARGENTINA vs USA
October 9, Kumagaya
Referee: Paul Williams (NZRU)
Assistants: Jaco Peyper (SARU) & Brendon Pickerill (NZRU)
TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

USA vs TONGA
October 13, Osaka
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Assistants: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) & Shuhei Kubo (JRFU)
TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

 

POOL D

FIJI vs URUGUAY
September 25, Kamaishi
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
Assistants: Angus Gardner (ARU) & Andrew Brace (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

GEORGIA vs URUGUAY
September 29, Kumagaya
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistants: Paul Williams (NZRU) & Alex Ruiz (FFR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

AUSTRALIA vs URUGUAY
October 5, Oita
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistants: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) & Karl Dickson (RFU)
TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)

WALES vs URUGUAY
October 13, Osaka
Referee: Angus Gardner (ARU)
Assistants: Luke Pearce (RFU) & Karl Dickson (RFU)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)