World Rugby has announced the match official appointments for the RBS 6 Nations 2016, which gets underway in February.

Appointments were made by the World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee at its recent meeting in London and follow a detailed review of all performances during Rugby World Cup 2015.

The championship opener between France and Italy on Saturday 6 February in Paris will be refereed by JP Doyle of England with Welshman Nigel Owens taking charge of the last match, on Saturday 19 March between France and England at the same venue.

3 Referees – Jaco Peyper of South Africa, Glen Jackson of New Zealand and France’s Romain Poite – have received 2 appointments each with a total of 12 referees involved. Australian Angus Gardner will make his championship debut when he takes charge of the Ireland vs Italy match in Dublin on 12 March. The 31-year-old from Sydney, who was an Assistant Referee at Rugby World Cup 2015, refereed his 1st full international in 2011 and already has 5 Tests under his belt.

From the Rugby World Cup panel, Gardner replaces New Zealander Chris Pollock, whose retirement from international refereeing was announced earlier this week by New Zealand Rugby. In total, Pollock took charge of 22 Tests throughout his career.

As usual, the appointments for the 15 championship fixtures feature a blend of northern and southern hemisphere Match Officials. Several of the Assistant Referees being used for this year’s Six Nations are graduates of the 2013 and 2014 Rugby World Rugby Under 20 Championship.

World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee Chairman John Jeffrey said: “Now that a successful Rugby World Cup is behind us, we are conscious of introducing fresh talent into the mix as we start our preparations for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan so Angus’ appointment and those of some of the newer Assistant Referees are particularly pleasing in that regard.

“At this time, I would like to thank Chris Pollock for his dedication and service throughout a wonderful refereeing career. He has been a world-class referee for many years now and it has been a pleasure to work with him. I wish him all the very best for the future.

“We were very pleased with how our top Referees and Television Match Officials performed during Rugby World Cup 2015 and notwithstanding Chris’ retirement we have managed to keep almost all of them together as we begin another 4-year cycle towards 2019. As always, our focus continues to be clear and consistent decision-making and the highest standards of physical conditioning.”

The selection system allows for movement in and out of the panel based on form and rewards the top performers and young Referees who have graduated through the performance pathway. Every performance is closely scrutinised and reviewed to ensure accountability. In addition, there is regular consultation with coaches with their feedback helping to inform selection decisions.

The World Rugby Match Official Selection Committee, chaired by John Jeffrey, comprises former elite Referees Lyndon Bray (SANZAR), Andrew Cole (SANZAR), Donal Courtney (European Rugby Champions Cup), Clayton Thomas (Six Nations) and World Rugby High Performance Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge.

The committee meets 4 times a year and makes selections for the next international window with all performances reviewed in advance of selection.

RBS 6 Nations Appointments:

Saturday 6 February 2016:

France vs Italy:

• Venue: Stade de France, Paris
• Referee: JP Doyle (England)
• Assistant Referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
• TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Scotland vs England:

• Venue: BT Murrayfield
• Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
• Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
• TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Sunday 7 February 2016:

Ireland vs Wales:

• Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
• Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
• Assistant Referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
• TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Saturday 13 February 2016:

France vs Ireland:

• Venue: Stade de France, Paris
• Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
• Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
• TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Wales vs Scotland:

• Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
• Assistant Referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
• TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Sunday 14 February 2016:

Italy vs England:

• Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
• Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
• TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Friday 26 February 2016:

Wales vs France:

• Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
• Assistant Referees: JP Doyle (England), Luke Pearce (England)
• TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Saturday 27 February 2016:

Italy vs Scotland:

• Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
• Assistant Referees: Pascal Gauzère (France), Nick Briant (New Zealand)
• TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

England vs Ireland:

• Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
• Referee: Romain Poite (France)
• Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
• TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Saturday 12 March 2016:

Ireland vs Italy:

• Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
• Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
• Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
• TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

England vs Wales:

• Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
• Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
• Assistant Referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
• TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Sunday 13 March 2016:

Scotland vs France:

• Venue: BT Murrayfield
• Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
• Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Marius Mitrea (FIR)
• TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Saturday 19 March 2016:

Wales vs Italy:

• Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• Referee: Romain Poite (France)
• Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
• TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

Ireland vs Scotland:

• Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
• Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
• Assistant Referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
• TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

France vs England:

• Venue: Stade de France, Paris
• Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
• Assistant Referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
• TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Craig Joubert gets critical England vs Wales appointment:

Craig Jouberts awards the last fateful penalty to Australia against Scotland

Craig Joubert will referee the England vs Wales match in the Six Nations in March, his 1st major appointment since the controversial end to the Australia vs Scotland quarterfinal at the Rugby World Cup.

Joubert was publicly humiliated by World Rugby after he awarded Australia a last-minute penalty, kicked over to beat Scotland by 1 point at Twickenham Stadium.

World Rugby made the unusual decision to release a statement and shame Joubert, and inflame Scotland’s feeling of injustice.

Joubert was unable to use the TMO at the time, a rule which is being reviewed.

Aside from controlling the England vs Wales game at Twickenham Stadium on 12 March, Joubert will see Scotland again, but as an Assistant Referee when they play Ireland in Dublin on 19 March, on the final weekend.

Among the other appointments announced on Wednesday, Nigel Owens, who officiated at the Rugby World Cup final, will be Assistant Referee for a couple of matches before taking the tournament closer between France and England in Paris.