Joubert gets Six Nations appointments
South African referee Craig Joubert who fell so spectacularly out of favour at the 2015 World Cup during the Scotland and Australian quarterfinal at Twickenham last month, has been given a Six Nations appointment next March.
Joubert broke Scottish hearts by wrongly awarding a last-minute winning penalty to Australia will referee the England versus Wales match at Twickenham on Saturday, March 12.
A week later, on March 19, Joubert will be in the sights of Scottish fans when he runs the line in the Ireland versus Scotland clash, in Dublin. He has been named as one of the assistant referees there and is bound to be given a hot reception by the visiting Scottish fans.
Apart from Joubert’s appointment, other South African officials will be in action in the Six Nations tournament with Jaco Peype , Glen Jackson of New Zealand and France’s Romain Poite receiving two appointments each.
The other South African appointed is Shaun Veldsman, who will be the TMO for the Ireland and Scotland clash in Dublin.
The championship opener between France and Italy on Saturday, February 6 in Paris will be refereed by JP Doyle of England with Welshman Nigel Owens taking charge of the last match, on Saturday, March 19 between France and England at the same venue.
Australian Angus Gardner will make his championship debut when he takes charge of the Ireland v Italy match in Dublin on March 12. The 31-year-old from Sydney, who was an assistant referee at RWC 2015, refereed his first full international in 2011 and already has five tests under his belt.
From the RWC panel, Gardner replaces New Zealander Chris Pollock, whose retirement from international refereeing was announced earlier today by New Zealand Rugby. In total, Pollock took charge of 22 tests throughout his career.
As usual, the appointments for the 15 championship fixtures feature a blend of northern and southern hemisphere match officials. Several of the assistant referees being used for this year’s Six Nations are graduates of the 2013 and 2014 World Rugby U20 Championship.
The selection system allows for movement in and out of the panel based on form and rewards the top performers and young referees who have graduated through the performance pathway. Every performance is closely scrutinised and reviewed to ensure accountability. In addition, there is regular consultation with coaches with their feedback helping to inform selection decisions.
The World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee, chaired by John Jeffrey, comprises former elite referees Lyndon Bray (SANZAR), Andrew Cole (SANZAR), Donal Courtney (European Rugby Champions Cup), Clayton Thomas (Six Nations) and World Rugby High Performance Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge.
The committee meets four times a year and makes selections for the next international window with all performances reviewed in advance of selection.
ANA