Five officials from four countries will take charge of the matches, which include a two-test series between Fiji and Japan, the second O’Reilly Cup encounter between Australia and New Zealand and the Wales v Spain WXV play-off.

Tyler Miller (Australia) and Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand) will referee the Fiji v Japan matches in Suva on 14 June and Lautoka on 20 June respectively before both focus on sevens and the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Aurélie Groizeleau (France) will take charge of the only match of the five in Europe, the WXV play-off between Wales and Rugby Europe Women’s Championship 2024 winners Spain at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff on 29 June. The winner will qualify for WXV 2 in South Africa, with the loser heading to Dubai for WXV 3.

Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) will referee the Australia v Fiji fixture at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 6 July, before Sara Cox (England) is in the middle for Australia v New Zealand at Ballymore in Brisbane on 14 July.

That match is the second of two in the O’Reilly Cup 2024 with New Zealand having won the retained the trophy with a 67-19 victory in North Harbour on 25 May. It will be a 39th test in charge for Cox, drawing her level once more with South Africa’s Aimee Barrett-Theron as the most-capped female referee in test history.

VIEW FULL APPOINTMENTS >>

World Rugby High Performance Women’s Referee Manager Alhambra Nievas said: “These test matches are important for the match official team as look to continue building momentum from the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and Pacific Four Series going as part of our preparations on the road to WXV and, ultimately, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.”

World Rugby have also confirmed that Amy Perrett has been appointed Women’s Match Officials Development Coach, the Australian joining Nievas and new Elite Women’s 15s Match Officials Head Coach Joy Neville in the new management structure.

Perrett, who joins World Rugby on 1 July, refereed 16 tests during her career, including the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 final between England and Canada in France, and took charge of the first-ever Olympic rugby sevens match at Rio 2016.

• Match officials appointed for first two rounds of WXV across three continents in October and November
• A total of 18 match officials representing 12 nations will take charge of matches
• WXV will revolutionise the women’s international rugby landscape, providing a meaningful pathway for all unions and a competitive springboard towards an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup in 2025

World Rugby has confirmed the Emirates Match Official appointments for all three levels of the inaugural WXV competition, which will take place in New Zealand, South Africa and Dubai in October and November.

Appointments have been made for the first two rounds in each level of WXV, World Rugby’s new international women’s 15s competition, with each of the six referees on the respective panels to take charge of one match.

VIEW THE WXV APPOINTMENTS >>

Appointment highlights:

• Kat Roche (USA) has the honour of refereeing the first-ever WXV match with Italy v Japan in Stellenbosch, South Africa on 13 October – an hour before fellow American Amelia Luciano takes charge of the WXV 3 opener between Fiji and Colombia in Dubai.
• This will be Luciano’s first test match in the middle since September 2019.
• A week later Lauren Jenner (New Zealand) will take charge of the opening match in WXV 1 between England and Australia in Auckland, New Zealand.
• Sara Cox (England) will temporarily regain the mantle of most-capped female test referee in her own right when she referees Canada v Wales in Wellington on 21 October.
• However, Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) will draw level with her on 36 tests when she is in the middle for France v Australia in Dunedin on 28 October.
• Eight of the nine referees from Rugby World Cup 2021 will referee in WXV 2, the exception being Joy Neville who is currently acting as a Television Match Official at Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.
• Six will referee in WXV 1 in Barrett-Theron, Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Cox, Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Jenner and Amber McLachlan (Australia), with Clara Munarini (Italy) and Aurélie Groizeleau (France) selected for WXV 2.
• Fellow WXV 2 referee Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) made her test debut with Japan v Fiji in Tokyo on 16 September, while Holly Wood (England) will referee her maiden test with Scotland v Spain on 30 September.
• Former Japan 15s and sevens player Ano Kuwai will make her test debut with the WXV 3 encounter between Ireland and Colombia in Dubai on 21 October.

Appointments for the final round of matches in each level will be made after round two.

World Rugby Women’s High Performance Referee Manager, Alhambra Nievas said: “WXV provides a new and great opportunity to see a wider group of match officials, with a mix of experience and new talent detected through domestic and regional competitions. The new global competition will play a big part in the journey to Rugby World Cup 2025.”

WXV 1 will take place in the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington across three weekends between 20 October and 4 November.

Cape Town and Stellenbosch in South Africa will host WXV 2 with matches being played from 13-28 October. At the same time, Dubai will welcome the WXV 3 teams to The Sevens Stadium. WXV is being supported by partners Mastercard, Capgemini and Gallagher.

With thanks to World Rugby

• Match officials confirmed for 10 warm-up fixtures across four continents in September and October as well as the inaugural WXV competition  
• A total of 18 match officials representing 12 nations will take charge of the 27 test matches
• WXV will revolutionize the women’s international rugby landscape, providing for the first time a meaningful pathway for all unions and a competitive springboard towards an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup in 2025

World Rugby has today announced the team of Emirates Match Officials selected for the upcoming September and October women’s internationals and three-level inaugural WXV competition to be held in New Zealand, South Africa and Dubai between 13 October to 4 November.

A total of 19 match officials representing 13 nations will take charge of the 10 warm-up fixtures in September and October across seven countries in four continents, with teams and officials preparing for the further 18 matches that comprise the WXV competition.

The appointments for WXV matches will be made later this month.

Appointment highlights

• Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand) and Holly Wood (England) will both make their test debuts, while Ella Goldsmith (Australia) receives her first appointment from World Rugby.
• Goldsmith takes charge of the opening test between Japan and Fiji in Fukuoka on 10 September with Ganley refereeing the second in Tokyo on 16 September.
• On the same day, Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) will draw level with Sara Cox (England) as the most-capped female referee of all time with South Africa v Kenya her 35th test.
• Wood’s debut will follow on 30 September with Scotland v Spain in Edinburgh.
• Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) takes charge of the final warm-up match on 7 October between WXV 2 rivals South Africa and Samoa.
• Lauren Jenner (New Zealand), Amber McLachlan (Australia), Kat Roche (USA), Aurélie Groizeleau (France) and Clara Munarini (Italy) to also referee warm-up matches in September.
• Six referees have been selected for each level of WXV competition.
• Former Japan 15s and sevens player Ano Kuwai is poised for her test debut as a referee after being named on the panel for WXV 3 in Dubai.

VIEW SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER APPOINTMENTS

WXV is a new three-level annual global women’s international 15s competition, providing for the first time a meaningful pathway for all unions and a competitive springboard towards an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup in 2025.

New Zealand will welcome the world’s top teams –Australia, Canada, England, France and Wales – in WXV 1 across three match weekends from 20 October to 4 November.

Six referees have been named on the panel for WVX 1, all of whom took charge of matches at Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand last year, in Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Sara Cox (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Lauren Jenner (New Zealand/FIR) and Amber McLachlan (Australia).

Cape Town and Stellenbosch in South Africa will play host to the second level WXV 2 with the Springbok Women hosting Japan, Italy, Samoa, Scotland and USA with matches being played across three weekends from 13-28 October.

The panel for WXV 2 features Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand), Aurélie Groizeleau (France), Clara Munarini (Italy), Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe), Kat Roche (USA) and Holly Wood (England)

The third level WXV 3 dates will mirror the same weekends as WXV 2 with Colombia, Fiji, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Spain heading to The Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

Doriane Domenjo (France), Ella Goldsmith (Australia), Ano Kuwai (Japan), Maria Latos (Germany), Amelia Luciano (USA) and Adèle Robert (Belgium) make up the panel for WXV 3.

All three levels will be played in a cross-pool format.

WXV is being supported by partners Mastercard, Capgemini and Gallagher.

VIEW WXV APPOINTMENTS

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “I would like to congratulate the match officials on their selection for the upcoming women’s tests along with the highly anticipated inaugural WXV competition. The fact that 13 nations are represented speaks volumes about the hard work being done around the world to develop talented women’s match officials as the sport continues its exciting growth.

“WXV promises to be an exceptional spectacle, a showcase of rugby at its best and a taste of what’s to come at the expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup in England in less than two years’ time.”

World Rugby Women’s High Performance Referee Manager, Alhambra Nievas said: “It’s an exciting time to be involved in women’s international rugby and I would like to congratulate all of the match officials that have been selected for the upcoming September and October internationals along with WXV across the three locations.

“These selections are based on merit and follow a comprehensive review of performances over recent international windows and will serve as important preparation for the match officials who will build towards selection for Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.”

With thanks to World Rugby

Anna Harris

Three match referees and 10 umpires make up a 13-woman officiating team, an all-female team for the first time ever at an ICC event.

England’s Anna Harris, making her debut at a major ICC event, has been given the honour of umpiring the opening game of the tournament in South Africa.

The 24-year-old will be joined in the middle by experienced New Zealander Kim Cotton when the host nation face Sri Lanka at Newlands on 10 February.

GS Lakshmi is the match referee, with Eloise Sheridan as TV Umpire and Suzanne Redfern fourth umpire.

At her debut tournament, Harris will also oversee Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka vs Australia and India vs Ireland.

Cotton, who umpired the record-breaking final of the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Melbourne, will also take charge of England vs India, India v Ireland and Australia vs Bangladesh.

Claire Polosak, the most experienced of the umpires selected, will be on field when England face India, West Indies and Ireland as well as Pakistan vs Ireland.

Source: ICC

Kim Cotton

South Africa’s Lauren Agenbag, umpiring on home soil, has four group stage appointments that include the grandstand India vs Pakistan fixture on 12 February.

Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies will join Agenbag at the helm when the old rivals collide at Newlands.

Sri Lanka’s Nimali Perera and England’s Sue Redfern will be in charge when Australia begin the defence of their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title, against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at Boland Park in Paarl on 11 February.

Appointments for the two semi-finals and final, taking place on 23, 24 and 26 February, have not yet been made.

With thanks to the ICC