Springboks v All Blacks: World Rugby confirms referees for four-Test series

World Rugby has confirmed the officials for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, with Matthew Carley, Nika Amashukeli and Angus Gardner appointed to referee the opening three Tests between the Springboks and the All Blacks.

Carley, from England, Amashukeli, from Georgia, and Gardner, from Australia, will each take charge of one of the first three matches in the series. Those Tests will be played on 22 August, 29 August and 5 September.

Karl Dickson, also of England, has been selected to referee the fourth Test. That match will take place in Baltimore, USA, on 12 September.

The four referees will also oversee the All Blacks’ other four fixtures on tour, against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions.

The All Blacks begin their tour on Friday with a meeting against the Stormers in Cape Town. They will then face the Sharks and Bulls before the opening Test against the Springboks at Ellis Park.

The appointments mean the officials for every match involving the All Blacks on the tour have now been confirmed. Carley, Amashukeli and Gardner will share the responsibility for the first three Tests, while Dickson will take charge of the final international in Baltimore.

The opening match of the tour against the Stormers comes before the All Blacks move on to their fixtures against the Sharks and Bulls. Those games will serve as the build-up to the first Test at Ellis Park on 22 August.

The series continues with further Tests on 29 August and 5 September, before concluding with the fourth Test in Baltimore on 12 September.

World Rugby’s confirmation also covers the four matches outside the Test series, with the same group of officials appointed across the tour fixtures against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions. The schedule therefore includes matches against all four South African clubs named for the All Blacks’ visit, as well as the four-Test contest against the Springboks.

Carley will be one of the three referees used during the opening section of the international series, alongside Amashukeli and Gardner. Dickson will then officiate the final Test in the United States.

The All Blacks’ first challenge comes on Friday in Cape Town, where they face the Stormers. Their next matches against the Sharks and Bulls will follow before the rivalry with the Springboks resumes at Ellis Park.

The series dates are 22 August, 29 August, 5 September and 12 September, with the final fixture scheduled for Baltimore, USA.