No Americas Referees Appointed for Rugby Championship 2025

No Americas referee will officiated matches in the 2025 Rugby Championship. Appointments for the 2025 Rugby Championship come from six countries: Australia, England, France, Georgia, Italy and New Zealand. All matches will be officiated in English.

The 2025 Rugby Championship will continue the wait: no Americas official has ever refereed a Rugby Championship match and nor has Argentina ever played a match in the tournament with a Spanish-Speaking referee.

Argentina joined Australia, New Zealand and South Africa for the 2012 edition of the tournament which was rebranded from the Tri Nations. The tournament is recognized as the annual competition between the four best Men’s teams from the Southern Hemisphere.

Since joining the competition, Argentina has gone from amateur to professional. Three Argentine teams in Super Rugby Americas 2025. This is more than the number of professional teams in Italy or Scotland. Expansion for 2026 is set to include a fourth Argentine team.

Super Rugby Americas 2025 included referees from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. All matches were officiated in the Spanish language. Nonetheless, the upcoming test match between Argentina and Uruguay will be refereed by Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) in English. Craig Evans (Wales) and Federico Vedovelli (Italy) will be the assistants and Mike Adamson (Scotland) will be the TMO.

Gnecchi will not referee matches in the 2025 Rugby Championship. He compatriot, Andrea Piardi will referee two matches: New Zealand vs Australia in Auckland and Argentina vs South Africa in London.

Piardi is joined by three different New Zealand referees have each been appointed Rugby Championship 2025 matches in the twelve-match tournament. Two Australians will also referee one match each as will two Englishmen.

Despite no Americas officials being appointed, World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge said:

“Unashamedly our goal is ensuring we are fully prepared for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia with the match officials’ team performing to its fullest potential, facilitating an exciting game for players and fans.”

When factoring in the appointments made for the 2025 Six Nations and the July Internationals, Jutge’s statement firmly suggests that it is very unlikely that there will be Americas officials at Rugby World Cup 2027. Two Spanish-Speaking countries are confirmed for Australia 2027 at this stage; Argentina and Spain have already qualified with Uruguay and Chile expected to join them.

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 – MATCH OFFICIALS

South Africa vs Australia Johannesburg, South Africa Saturday, August 16, 2025	Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 1: James Doleman (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) TMO: Tual Trainini (France) FPRO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
Argentina vs New Zealand Córdoba, Argentina Saturday, August 16, 2025	Referee: Pierre Brousset (France) Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (Australia) Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa) FPRO: Damon Murphy (Australia)
South Africa vs Australia Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, August 23, 2025	Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) TMO: Richard Kelly (Australia) FPRO: Tual Trainini (France)
Argentina vs New Zealand Buenos Aires, Argentina Saturday, August 23, 2025	Referee: Nic Berry (Australia) Assistant Referee 1: Pierre Brousset (France) Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) TMO: Damon Murphy (Australia) FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Australia vs Argentina Townsville, Australia Saturday, September 06, 2025	Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 1: Christophe Ridley (England) Assistant Referee 2: Sam Grove-White (Scotland) TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland) FPRO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
New Zealand vs South Africa Auckland, New Zealand Saturday, September 06, 2025	Referee: Karl Dickson (England) Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (Australia) TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia) FPRO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Australia vs Argentina Sydney, Australia Saturday, September 13, 2025	Referee: Christophe Ridley (France) Assistant Referee 1: Paul Williams (New Zealand) Assistant Referee 2: Sam Grove-White (Scotland) TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand) FPRO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
New Zealand vs South Africa Wellington, New Zealand Saturday, September 13, 2025	Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) Assistant Referee 1: Angus Gardner (Australia) Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (Australia) TMO: Eric Gauzins (France) FPRO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
New Zealand vsAustralia Auckland, New Zealand Saturday, September 27, 2025	Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy) Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (England) Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa) FPRO: Andrew Jackson (England)
South Africa vs Argentina Durban South Africa Saturday, September 27, 2025	Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia) Assistant Referee 1: Pierre Brousset (France) Assistant Referee 2: Angus Mabey (New Zealand) TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia) FPRO: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Australia vs New Zealand Perth, Australia Saturday, October 04, 2025	Referee: Matthew Carley (England) Assistant Referee 1: Pierre Brousset (France) Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (South Africa) TMO: Andrew Jackson (England) FPRO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Argentina vs South Africa London, England Saturday, October 04, 2025	Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy) Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (England) TMO: Ian Tempest (England) FPRO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)