Wayne Barnes to take charge of All Blacks’ quarter-final with Ireland

Wayne Barnes will take charge of the All Blacks’ highly anticipated showdown with Ireland with World Rugby confirming the match officials for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

Barnes has been appointed for a record fourth time at this stage of the sports showpiece event.

New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe will referee the other quarter-final at Stade de France between France and South Africa, while Jaco Peyper and Mathieu Raynal have been named for the two games in Marseille.

Peyper will officiate Wales versus Argentina on Saturday at Stade de Marseille and Raynal will look over the third quarter between England and Fiji.

“I am full of admiration for how the match officials have performed at this Rugby World Cup and the example that they set as ambassadors and guardians of the sport’s values,” World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said.

“They have played their full part in what will be remembered as a compelling pool phase.

“I would like to congratulate Jaco, Wayne, Mathieu and Ben, the assistant referees and TMOs, and we now look forward to four compelling matches on the road to determining who will lift the Webb Ellis Cup at Stade de France on 28 October.”

Referee Barnes will move ahead of Nigel Owens, Jim Fleming and Derek Bevan for the most quarter-finals officiated by a referee. Jaco Peyper is also set for a milestone with the South African set to oversee his 50^th Test.

The four referees have a combined 263 Test matches of experience between them, although this is the first quarter-final for both O’Keeffe and Raynal.

“Congratulations to those appointed. It was a very difficult selection as the performance level has been high,” World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge added.

“As a team, the match officials have worked hard to achieve consistency of performance and clarity of decision-making that enables the players to do what they do best.

“There is a strong culture within this group and a strong understanding with the teams owing to the preparation achieved over the last year and beyond.

“While it is the referees who will get the recognition for the appointments, this is a team game. We have an excellent team of referees, assistant referees and TMOs with a strong team ethic for the group to be the best it can be as a whole.”