The Rugby World Cup is by far the biggest tournament in all of rugby. The decisions made at the tournament have to be spot on because there is so much on the line for each of the teams. So let’s take a look at the Rugby World Cup referees for 2023.
Who are the referees for the 2023 Rugby World Cup? The referees for the 2023 Rugby World Cup are; Nika Amashukeli, Wayne Barnes, Nic Berry, Andrew Brace, Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson, Angus Gardner, Ben O’Keeffe, Luke Pearce, Jaco Peyper, Mathieu Raynal and Paul Williams.
World Rugby have recently named the 12 referees who will be officiating at the Rugby World Cup in 2023. These are the only officials who will be referees at the tournament, as World Rugby has named two separate squads for the assistant referees and the Television match officials.
Out of the group, four of those referees will be making this debut at the Rugby World Cup. Those four are Nika Amashukeli, Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson and Andrew Brace. Amashukeli becomes the first referee in the Rugby World Cup to come from a Tier 2 nation in Georgia.
Wayne Barnes is the most experienced of the Rugby World Cup officials and he will be refereeing at his fifth Rugby World Cup which is a record. It is a very impressive record for one of the best rugby referees in the world.
Who are the Assistant referees for Rugby World Cup 2023?
There are a select group of rugby officials who will be assistant referees at the Rugby World Cup in 2023.
The assistant referees for the 2023 Rugby World Cup are; Chris Busby, Pierre Brousset, James Doleman, Craig Evans, Andrea Piardi, Christope Ridley and Jordan Way. Andrea Piardi is the only Italian official going to the Rugby World Cup in 2023, with Craig Evans being the only on the field official from Wales at the tournament.
Who is Nika Amashukeli?
When World Rugby announced the referees for the Rugby World Cup in 2023, Nika Amushukeli was one of the names which got a lot of attention. That is mainly because not a lot of rugby fans know who Nika Amashukeli is.
Nika Amashukeli is a Georgia rugby referee. Having been introduced to rugby by his father, Amushukeli actually was selected by the Georgian U18 team for the 2012 European Under-18 Rugby Championship. Sadly, by the age of 20 Amushukeli had suffered so many injuries that he had to retire from the game.
But Amusheukli turned to refereeing instead, helped by the Georgian Rugby Union starting a program aimed at improving their referees. In the last decade, Amushukeli has ascended to become one of the best rugby referees in the world. He made his test refereeing debut on the 3rd of July 2021 in a game between Wales and Canada.
Since then, Amushukeli has refereed multiple Tier 1 internationals as well as some incredibly influential domestic games. He is going to be making his Rugby World Cup debut at this tournament, becoming the first international rugby referee to officiate at a Rugby World Cup from a Tier 2 nation.
Who are the best referees at the Rugby World Cup 2023
The Rugby World Cup is the most important rugby competition in the world. So it means that the very best rugby referees will be officiating at the Rugby World Cup in 2023. But there are a few referees who sit above the rest.
Wayne Barnes is not only the most experienced referee at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but he is likely also the best. Barnes has been an international rugby referee for more than 20 years now. He has worked in some of the biggest rugby games in the world, at both an international and domestic level.
There is a very good chance that as long as England do not make it to the Rugby World Cup Final, Barnes will be the man chosen to be the referee for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final. There are some other referees who will be at the tournament that could be the best.
Mathieu Raynal is certainly one of the best referees in the world. The Frenchman has been working in professional rugby for more than 15 years, having refereed test matches for 14 years. He has a huge amount of Rugby World Cup experience.
Luke Pearce is another of the referees who has a brilliant reputation. Pierce began as a rugby referee from a very early age and progressed through the system incredibly quickly. When Pierce was just 24 years old, he was refereeing European Challenge Cup games. Two years later, Pearce would take charge of his first international game.
Pearce was a referee at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and has been named on the list of referees for the 2023 tournament. South African rugby referee Jaco Peyper is also one of the most experienced rugby referees in the world. Peyper had a similar ascension through the junior ranks to Pearce.
Having taken charge of his first Super Rugby game in 2008, Peyper became an international rugby referee in 2011. 2023 will be the third Rugby World Cup that Peyper has officiated at. In 2019, Peyper caused controversy. He sent off French player Sebastien Vahaamahina for an elbow.
After the game, Peyper posed with Wales fans with his elbow on one of the fans’ heads. It led to Peyper not being considered for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals the next week. But he is still one of the best referees in the world.
The southern hemisphere has some excellent referees who will be featuring at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe has been an international rugby referee since 2016. He featured at the Rugby World Cup four years ago and will be a referee for this tournament as well.
Australian Angus Gardner is similarly experienced, having refereed international games since 2011. He was an assistant referee in 2015 and a referee in 2019. Gardner will reprise his role as a rugby referee at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.