Raynal on World Cup referee panel as Neville makes history

Frenchman Mathieu Raynal is his country's sole representative among the list of 12 referees named for the Rugby World Cup this year, and Television Match Official Joy Neville will make history as the first woman to be part of the panel.

Neville has been named among seven TMOs, while Nika Amashukeli becomes the first Georgian to referee at the global showpiece event.

France had four referees in Japan in 2019, but the retirement of Jerome Garces, Romain Poite and Pascal Gauzere leaves Raynal as last man standing.

He raised the ire of Australia last year when he penalised flyhalf Bernard Foley for time-wasting close to his own line in a crucial Rugby Championship test against New Zealand.

The resulting set-piece allowed the All Blacks to overturn a 37-34 deficit with two minutes remaining and win the game.

The decision was described by some former Wallabies as a disgrace, but Raynal publicly stood by his call and was later named French Referee of the Year.

The list of referees for the global showpiece in France includes a quartet of English officials for the first time in Wayne Barnes - appearing at a fifth World Cup - Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson and Luke Pearce.

Barnes and Pearce officiated at the last tournament in Japan four years ago, but Carley and Dickson make their debuts along with Amashukeli and Ireland's Andrew Brace.

Eight of the 12 referees who took charge in Japan four years ago have been retained. The others are Australians Nic Berry and Angus Gardner, New Zealanders Ben O'Keeffe and Paul Williams, and South African Jaco Peyper.

Berry was at the centre of a storm during the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa when he was the subject of an hour-long video critique by Springbok director of rugby Rassie