Rugby World Cup
Referees get World Cup dates
ESPNscrum Staff
April 29, 2011
England lock Louis Deacon is yellow carded by Alain Rolland, Wales v England, Six Nations, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, February 4, 2011
Alain Rolland yellow cards England's Louis Deacon during the Six Nations clash with Wales this year © Getty Images
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Tournaments/Tours: Rugby World Cup

Ireland's Alain Rolland will referee the potentially decisive Rugby World Cup Pool A clash between New Zealand and France in Auckland after the International Rugby Board (IRB) confirmed the appointments for the opening stages of the tournament.

The previous World Cup match up between the two sides led to criticism of English referee Wayne Barnes after he missed a forward pass in the lead up to France's winning try from Yannick Jauzion.

Each of the 10 referees selected for the tournament will take charge of four games during the Pool stages with other notable appointments including Steve Walsh, now representing Australia, taking charge of France against Japan on September 10. England's first game, against Argentina on the same day, will be refereed by New Zealand's Bryce Lawrence.

It had earlier been confirmed that Ireland's George Clancy would referee the opening game of the tournament between New Zealand and Tonga. England's Dave Pearson will referee Russia's debut in the World Cup against the USA on September 15.

IRB council member David Pickering, who chaired the selection committee, confirmed that the referee's performances would be monitored before decisions were taken over who should take charge of the knock-out matches.

"Each Referee will take charge of four matches during the Pool phase allowing for a comprehensive review of performances by the Selection Committee," he said. "A total of 10 of the 21 Match Officials will be retained for the knock-out stages."

Click here for the full list of appointments

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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