Jaco Peyper, the referee who was verbally abused by Ireland’s Johnny Sexton following the Champions Cup final, has been confirmed as the opening referee for the start of the Rugby World Cup in two weeks’ time.
Peyper will be assisted by an all-English team of Karl Dickson, Christophe Ridley and TMO Tom Foley, reuniting the same group of officials who took charge of the Champions Cup final. Sexton approached the group after Leinster’s defeat to La Rochelle and was subsequently banned for three matches for verbally abusing a match official.
England’s opening match against Argentina in Marseille will be overseen by France’s Mathieu Raynal, who last refereed England during their 2src-1src win over Wales during the Six Nations.
Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli will be in charge when England face Japan. Peyper will be the referee when England face Chile, with Ireland’s Andrew Brace chosen to referee England against Samoa.
English officials Dickson and Luke Pearce will be referees for France against Italy and Fiji against Portugal respectively. Referees for the knockout stages of the tournament will be announced at a later date.
World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Official Manager Joël Jutge added:
…. to be continued
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