International Rugby Board announces match officials for 2012 Six Nations competition – Rugby News
The Rugby Union governing body, International Rugby Board (IRB), has announced the officials for the matches of the 2012 Six Nations competition. IRB announced the details of the officials
in a statement released on their official website on Tuesday, November 1.
Six Nations tournament is played between the Six Northern Hemisphere teams during the first quarter of every year. 2012 Six Nations tournament will kick start with an encounter between 2011
Rugby World Cup runners up France and Italy at Stade de France on February 4.
Nigel Owens from Wales will officiate the first match of the 2012 Six Nations tournament.
The referees’ nominations for the tournament were made by the IRB Referees Selection Committee. The committee held its meeting in Auckland, New Zealand. Besides confirming the names of the
officials for the 2012 Six Nations tournament, the committee has candidly reviewed the performance of the referees and match officials in the recently concluded 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Providing the details regarding the meeting, IRB Referees Manager Paddy O'Brien commented, “I was really impressed by the overall performance during Rugby World Cup 2011, but our focus will
remain firmly on consistency, penalising the clear and the obvious and tackling the 'big five' areas.”
O’Brien further added, “We have made the appointments immediately after Rugby World Cup 2011 so match officials have the best possible preparation period ahead of the RBS Six Nations, after
what has been a physically demanding year of Test Rugby.”
The 2012 Six Nations tournament will mark the debut of Chris Pollock as referee in Ireland vs. Scotland encounter at Aviva Stadium on March 10. Earlier during the 2011 Ruby World Cup tournament,
Pollock was named in the reserved referees. Earlier this year, he made his international debut as referee during 2011 Tri Nations encounter between Wallabies and Springboks.
The referees’ appointments made by the IRB for the Six Nations tournament are given below-
4 Feb at 14:30 - France v Italy at Stade de France, Referee: Nigel Owens
4 Feb at 17:00 - Scotland v England at Murrayfield, Referee: George Clancy
5 Feb at 15:00 - Ireland v Wales at Aviva Stadium, Referee: Wayne Barnes
11 Feb at 16:00 - Italy v England at Stadio Olimpico, Referee: Jerome Garces
11 Feb at 20:00 - France v Ireland at Stade de France, Referee: Dave Pearson
12 Feb at 15:00 - Wales v Scotland at Millennium Stadium, Referee: Romain Poite
25 Feb at 13:30 - Ireland v Italy at Aviva Stadium, Referee: Craig Joubert
25 Feb at 16:00 - England v Wales at Twickenham, Referee: Steve Walsh
26 Feb at 15:00 - Scotland v France at Murrayfield, Referee: Wayne Barnes
10 Mar at 14:30 - Wales v Italy at Millennium Stadium, Referee: George Clancy
10 Mar at 17:00 - Ireland v Scotland at Aviva Stadium, Referee: Chris Pollock
11 Mar at 15:00 - France v England at Stade de France, Referee: Alain Rolland
17 Mar at 12:30 - Italy v Scotland at Stadio Olimpico, Referee: Alain Rolland
17 Mar at 14:45 - Wales v France at Millennium Stadium, Referee: Craig Joubert
17 Mar at 17:00 - England v Ireland at Twickenham, Referee: Nigel Owens