Two referees handed Test debuts as November appointments confirmed

Australia’s Angus Gardner has been appointed to referee the November 2 clash in London between England and New Zealand, with Gardner's fellow country man, Nic Berry, pencilled in for the November 8 game between Ireland and the All Blacks in Dublin.

Another Australian, Reuben Keane, and Jeremy Rozier of France will make their Test debuts over the course of a November international window where 30 referees from 12 countries will take charge of the 36 Test matches and five other representative games.

A statement read: “Jordan Way (Australia) will take charge of the first match in the window, between Japan and New Zealand in Yokohama on October 26, with Andrea Piardi (Italy) to referee the last match on November 30 between Ireland and Australia in Dublin.

“Craig Evans (Wales), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Luc Ramos (France), Christophe Ridley (England) and Hollie Davidson (Scotland) will all take charge of two Test matches in this window.

“Davidson is one of two female officials appointed by World Rugby to matches in November alongside Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), who has been selected as assistant referee for three matches: Georgia vs All Blacks XV on November 10, Spain vs Fiji on November 16 and Georgia vs Tonga on November 24.

“Jeremy Rozier (France) and Reuben Keane (Australia) will make their Test debuts. Keane will take charge of Hong Kong China vs Brazil on November 9 with Rozier to referee the Netherlands vs Chile a week later.

“Nika Amashukeli will referee the repeat of the Rugby World Cup 2023 opening match between France and New Zealand at Stade de France on November 16. Fellow Georgian Saba Abulashvili has been handed his first Test referee appointment – Spain vs USA on November 23 – after officiating at the U20 Championship in July.

“Confirmation of any law trials operational during the window will be made by the respective competition owners and unions in the coming weeks.”

Brett Robinson, men’s Emirates World Rugby high performance match officials selectors chairman, said: “As we build towards Rugby World Cup 2031 in the USA via an expanded Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia and the new Nations Cup, we continue to be focused on developing a broader team of match officials.

“With a new match officiating strategy and high-performance system, deeper collaboration across unions and competitions, the evolution is reflected in this selection. Congratulations to all.”

World Rugby high performance 15s match official manager Joel Jutge added: “Throughout 2024 we have been focusing on resetting the relationship with coaches, embedding a new performance structure and driving clarity across the game.

“With law amendments, law trials and a revised television match official process to contend with, I am proud of how the team has responded. November is the next step for us to give experience to a wider team with an eye on Rugby World Cup 2031 in the USA.”

• Click here for the full list on international match appointments