The match officials for Round #2 of The Rugby Championship, as selected by World Rugby, have been confirmed.
The Rugby Championship, Round #2, kicks-off at Westpac Stadium in Wellington where Australian referee Nic Berry [pictured below] is in the middle as the All Blacks host the Springboks. Berry has grown into one of Super Rugby's emerging referee talents and he refereed a Super Rugby semi-final this year. He made his test debut in 2016 and has taken charge of nine tests to date and refereed in this year's 6 Nations tournament. His performances have been rewarded with a spot in the 12-man Rugby World Cup referee team. The former player will take charge of four pool matches in Japan.
The second match of the round in Brisbane will see New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe take charge of the Wallabies versus Pumas match at Suncorp Stadium. Now one of Super Rugby's established referees, he has also been rewarded with a place as one of the 12-man referee panel for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. He made his test debut in 2016 (Samoa v Georgia) and has taken charge of 14 tests to date.
Match | New Zealand v South Africa @ Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
Date | Saturday 27 July |
Kick-off | 19:35 local |
Referee | Nic Berry (Australia) |
AR1 | Angus Gardner (Australia) |
AR2 | Shuhei Kubo (Japan) |
TMO | Rowan Kitt (England) |
Match | Australia v Argentina @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
Date | Saturday 27 July |
Kick-off | 19:45 local |
Referee | Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand) |
AR1 | Paul Williams (New Zealand) |
AR2 | Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand) |
TMO | Ben Skeen (New Zealand) |