World Rugby’s Nations Cup will provide Tier Two nations with a significant preparation boost ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Much has been made about the elitism that remains in rugby union, with the powerhouse Tier One nations icing out the rest of the world, denying the prospect of promotion and relegation to the Nations Championship until 2030 at the earliest.
There is certainly a lot to support those claims, but credit where it is due, World Rugby has managed to make some accommodations which are within their control to help prepare the developing rugby nations in their preparations for next year’s global event.
What World Rugby have done
The game’s governing body is far from perfect, and the same is true for Head of Match Officials Joël Jutge, who has been slammed by the likes of Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie recently.
The Springboks and All Blacks bosses bemoaned the fact that they were unable to meet the match officials in the build-up to a Test match without the opposing coach being present.
Again, there is a strong argument to be made for both sides of the coin whether World Rugby is doing the right thing or not, but Jutge can certainly hold his head high with the match official appointments for the upcoming November internationals.
It’s somewhat of an open secret that Tier Two nations have rued the fact that top international referees do not officiate any of their matches, unless they are facing one of the Six Nations or Rugby Championship teams.
For the upcoming Nations Cup matches, that is certainly not the case, with some of the game’s best referees being overlooked for key Nations Championship Tests.
“18 referees from 11 nations will take charge of the 18 matches hosted in England, France, Georgia, Hong Kong, Portugal, Romania and Spain with referees given opportunities to take charge of teams they could officiate at RWC 2027 and also for those teams to have some of the most experienced officials on the current men’s panel in the middle for their games,” a paragraph in World Rugby’s statement announcing the appointments read.
As noted in that extract, it will be important that the Tier Two nations get a feel for how the top referees in the game officiate Tests, especially with the contrasting styles of the officials.
Ex-Irish referees boss Owen Doyle has repeatedly hit out at Super Rugby Pacific officials, most recently stating that the refs from the Southern Hemisphere favour the team in possession.
“Contests for possession are the unique identity of rugby union, its essential heartbeat. However, Super Rugby Pacific refereeing favours the team in possession to such an extent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get the ball back,” he wrote in the Irish Times reviewing Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between the Springboks and All Blacks.
“Teams must be allowed opportunities to contest for the ball, to regain possession. These are crucial contests, which do not exist in rugby league, where a team must hand it over to their opponents after six tackles, so that the others can ‘have a go’, so to speak. Is that really what World Rugby wants? Because that’s where it’s heading.
“A core principle of union is being left behind, forgotten: that continuity of play is not, repeat not, continuity of possession. And, unsurprisingly, lineout illegalities continue unabated. Teams flout the law, unhindered by fear of a sanction.”
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A win-win for all
His criticism is rooted in a frustration around inconsistency in the application of the laws across the board but the Tier One nations have been benefitting from the fact that the same elite referees have been officiating their matches throughout this World Cup cycle. The same is not true for those in the Pacific Nations Cup, Rugby Europe and so on.
In fact, had Jutge not appointed the likes of Angus Gardner, Nic Berry, Ben O’Keeffe, and Matthew Carley to Nations Cup matches now, many of the teams and players would only encounter those referees at next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Instead, Romania and Tonga will be exposed to Gardner’s style in the opening round of the second leg of the Nations Cup, whilst Portugal and Chile get his fellow countryman Berry.
O’Keeffe, who officiated a World Cup quarter-final and semi-final in France, will take charge of the mouth-watering showdown between Spain and Uruguay – officiating his 60th Test in doing so – while Carley oversees Zimbabwe and Samoa.
Make no mistake, these appointments are just as beneficial for the referees as they are for the teams competing. They will also get a feel of how these teams, who have all qualified for the World Cup, operate as well as their styles of play and capabilities.
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Furthermore, this also opens opportunities for the up-and-coming referees to be exposed to more ‘high-profile’ Test matches. Ireland’s Andrew Brace has been handed two matches – Scotland v New Zealand and Italy v Fiji – whilst Frenchman Pierre Brousset will referee England v Australia and Wales v New Zealand.
Argentine referee Damián Schneider has been appointed for the clash between England and Japan at the Allianz Stadium too. This will be the first top-flight competition he has officiated.
Overall, this is a win-win situation for all involved.