2017 Rugby Championship match officials

The world governing body announced the match official appointments for the upcoming Rugby Championship competition, with 18 officials and five TMOs taking charge of the 12 matches and the standalone Bledisloe Cup match in October.

Jérôme Garcès will take charge of the opening match of this year’s competition when Australia host New Zealand on 19 August in Sydney.

In what is another important stage in the Rugby World Cup cycle for the further development of elite match officials, New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe will  make his tournament debut when he referees South Africa and Australia in Bloemfontein on 30 September.

Frenchman Jerome Garces then takes charge of the whistle when the Springboks face the All Blacks in their final match to be played on 7 October at Newlands in Cape Town.

2017 Rugby Championship Fixtures

Match : Australia v New Zealand
Date : 19-Aug-17
Venue :ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Kick Off local: 20:00
Referee: Jerome Garces (FFR)
Assistant Ref 1: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Ref 2: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
TMO : Rowan Kitt (RFU)

Match : South Africa v Argentina
Date : 19-Aug-17
Venue :Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick Off local: 17:05
Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
Assistant Ref 1: Pascal Gauzere (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Nic Berry (ARU)
TMO : Glenn Newman (NZR)

Match : New Zealand v Australia
Date : 26-Aug-17
Venue :Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Kick Off local: 19:35
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Ref 1: Jerome Garces (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
TMO : Rowan Kitt (RFU)

Match : Argentina v South Africa
Date : 26-Aug-17
Venue :Estadio Padre Ernesto Marlearena, Salta
Kick Off local: 16:30
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (FFR)
Assistant Ref 1: Romain Poite (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Nic Berry (ARU)
TMO : Glenn Newman (NZR)

Match : New Zealand v Argentina
Date : 09-Sep-17
Venue :Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Kick Off local: 19:35
Referee: Angus Gardner (ARU)
Assistant Ref 1: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Assistant Ref 2: Matthew Carley (RFU)
TMO : George Ayoub (ARU)

Match : Australia v South Africa
Date : 09-Sep-17
Venue :NIB Stadium, Perth
Kick Off local: 18:00
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZR)
Assistant Ref 1: John Lacey (IRFU)
Assistant Ref 2: Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO : Ben Skeen (NZR)

Match : Australia v Argentina
Date : 16-Sep-17
Venue :GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick Off local: 20:00
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
Assistant Ref 1: Glen Jackson (NZR)
Assistant Ref 2: Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO : Ben Skeen (NZR)

Match : New Zealand v South Africa
Date : 16-Sep-17
Venue :QBE Stadium, Albany
Kick Off local: 19:30
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Assistant Ref 1: Angus Gardner (ARU)
Assistant Ref 2: Matthew Carley (RFU)
TMO : George Ayoub (ARU)

Match : South Africa v Australia
Date : 30-Sep-17
Venue :Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick Off local: 17:05
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Ref 1: Jerome Garces (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Shuhei Kubo (JRFU)
TMO : Rowan Kitt (RFU)

Match : Argentina v New Zealand
Date : 30-Sep-17
Venue :Estadio Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
Kick Off local: 19:30
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Ref 1: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
TMO : Marius Jonker (SARU)

Match : South Africa v New Zealand
Date : 07-Oct-17
Venue :Newlands, Cape Town
Kick Off local: 17:05
Referee: Jerome Garces (FFR)
Assistant Ref 1: Romain Poite (FFR)
Assistant Ref 2: Shuhei Kubo (JRFU)
TMO : Rowan Kitt (RFU)

Match : Argentina v Australia
Date : 07-Oct-17
Venue :Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Kick Off local: 19:30
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Ref 1: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Ref 2: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
TMO : Marius Jonker (SARU)

Match : Australia v New Zealand
Date : 21-Oct-17
Venue :Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick Off local: 19:00
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Ref 1: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Assistant Ref 2: Egon Seconds (SARU)
TMO : Marius Jonker (SARU)