Referees confirmed for RWC quarterfinals
All BlacksOctober 11, 2023
New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe will control his first Rugby World Cup finals game when refereeing France v South Africa on Monday (NZT), while England's Wayne Barnes has been named to referee the Ireland-New Zealand game on Sunday (NZT).
Barnes will be supported by English referees Matthew Carley and Christophe Ridley, who will be the assistant referees with England's Tom Foley, the TMO.
O'Keefe will be backed by an all-New Zealand panel with Paul Williams and James Doleman as the assistant referees and Brendon Pickerill as the TMO.
Jaco Peyper of South Africa will referee the Wales v Argentina game in Marseille, and France's Mathieu Raynal will referee England against Fiji, also in Marseille.
Announcing the appointments, World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said, "I am full of admiration for how the match officials have performed at this Rugby World Cup and the example they set as ambassadors and guardians of the sport's value.
"They have played their part in what will be remembered as a compelling pool phase."
World Rugby's high-performance 15s manager Joel Jutge congratulated those appointed.
"It was a very difficult selection as the performance level has been high. 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."
