We already have an idea of who may

Referee the World Cup Final.

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man.”

But enough, for the moment, of my Lancashire Presidential year which finished in June…..

Something really big is on its way, Rugby World Cup looms and the twelve referees firmly in the spotlight will be (number of tests in brackets): Wayne Barnes (RFU, 57), George Clancy (IRFU, 38), JPDoyle (RFU, 12), Jerome Garces (FFR,22), Pascal Gauzere (FFR, 17), Glen Jackson (NZR, 10), Craig Joubert (SARU, 55), John Lacey(IRFU, 13), Nigel Owens (WRU, 60), Jaco Peyper (SARU, 20), Romain Poite (FFR, 39), Chris Pollock (NZR, 18). In addition there is a list of seven assistant referees and four television match officials. They will all be kept busy.

France has three representatives, four other countries include two each and two major countries have none at all-Australia and Scotland. JP Doyle, the second English Referee would probably be regarded as one of the less experienced and will be delighted to be included in this elite group.

To ensure equality, all the appointments to the group matches have already been made, with each referee receiving three games. Needless to say there have been rumblings even before it all starts, “what happens if so and so has a stinker in his first game?” This system has never been applied in previous tournaments where each match has been reviewed before the next list of referees, assistants and TMO’s appears. Jaco Peyper, who refereed the England v France warm up in Paris, will have the honour of opening the proceedings when he takes charge of England v Fiji at Twickenham on September 18th.

So what can we expect from the best dozen referees in the World? The highest standards, some controversy and maybe no little politics as the appointments reach the knock-out stages. In previous tournaments, there has invariably been debate at the announcement of the officials for the semis and final. We would have to exclude England’s Ed Morrison from that discussion, who, in 1995 refereed one of the most memorable finals ever, between South Africa and New Zealand. (In the 2009 film Invictus which faithfully represented the build up and final itself, we never did discover who played the part of Ed!). Already in these columns it has been predicted that if England and Wales do not reach the final then Wayne Barnes or Nigel Owens could be the man in the middle.  

Over six weeks, the referees will enjoy a unique experience visiting some of the established top sporting venues in the country. They will be treated like royalty which brings me back to the end of my Presidential year when we sat in the Royal Box at Twickenham, to watch Lancashire’s narrow defeat in the Bill Beaumont Cup. Happy Days!

David Matthews, 5 September 2015