Australia will have multiple referees in action at the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 16 years in Japan after Angus Gardner and Nick Berry were both appointed as whistleblowers for the showcase tournament later this year.
World Rugby announced the 12-man refereeing panel on Tuesday night, four months before the 2019 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Japan in September.
The full panel is: Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England), Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gaüzère (France), Mathieu Raynal (France), Nigel Owens (Wales), Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand), Nic Berry (Australia) and Angus Gardner (Australia.
The appointments of Gardner and Berry are 200 per cent improvement on the 2015 Rugby World Cup when there was no Australian referee appointed to the main panel.
Gardner was an assistant referee at the tournament in England and Wales.
But after being named the 2018 World Rugby referee of the year, Garner was a shoo-in for a top job in 2019.
Berry has come from the clouds, however, after only refereeing his first Test match last year. The former Queensland Reds halfback switched to refereeing in 2015 after being forced to retire due to concussion.
Prior to 2015, Australia only had one referee selected for the 2011 World Cup (Steve Walsh) and 2007 World Cup (Stu Dickinson).
The last time Australia had more than one referee in action was in 2003, when Dickinson, Wayne Erickson, Peter Marshall and Scott Young all officiated in games.
"When you get the news like that it is massively exciting, from a personal perspective but also from an Rugby Australia perspective,” Gardner said.
"We have put a lot together as a referees program over the last four years, really driven by (Rugby Australia referees boss) Scotty Young and his team, and I suppose it has got to this position of Nick and I being selected.
"It’s a great reflection on what we’ve done as a team and building the referee’s program. If we look back to 2015 there was only one referee there as an assistant, so to have two now is huge.”
Gardner said being an assistant referee in 2015 was a “great taste” of the World Cup atmosphere, and also an insight into the huge pressures on match officials - along with teams and coaches.
The leading Aussie referee said he was particularly pleased for Berry to get the nod after a successful transition to the whistleblowing ranks.
"Nic is just such a great bloke and a lot of that translates onto how he comes across onto the field,” Gardner said.
"Nic has a great feel for the game. He loves to talk, he loves the weights, loves the gym. He is just an all-around top bloke so I am really looking forward to sharing nine weeks with Nic and sharing the Rugby World Cup.”
Australia had two referees at the first World Cup - Bob Fordham and Kerry Fitzgerald. Fordham whistled up the first kick-off in the first game, and Fitzgerald refereed the final between New Zealand and France.
AUSTRALIAN REFEREES AT RUGBY WORLD CUPS
1987: Bob Fordham, Kerry Fitzgerald (final).
1991: Kerry Fitzgerald (semi-final), Sandy McNeill.
1995: Wayne Erickson, Barry Leask
1999: Wayne Erickson, Andrew Cole, Stu Dickinson, Peter Marshall.
2003: Wayne Erickson, Scott Young, Stu Dickinson, Peter Marshall.
2007: Stu Dickinson
2011: Steve Walsh
2015: -
2019: Angus Gardner, Nic Berry
