World Rugby confirm refs for Nations Championship as Luke Pearce gets big call

World Rugby have confirmed the match official appointments for the opening block of fixtures in the inaugural Nations Championship, with England’s Luke Pearce handed the marquee opening assignment.

Pearce will referee New Zealand v France in Christchurch on 4 July, the first fixture in the new biennial competition created through a joint venture between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR.

The tournament brings together 12 of the leading international teams in a northern versus southern hemisphere format, with fixtures scheduled across the July and November windows before a finals weekend in London later this year.

A total of 16 referees from eight nations will oversee the 18 matches in July, with a broader group of 35 match officials from 11 unions involved across the competition.

New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe and Australia’s Nic Berry are the only referees appointed to two matches in this opening phase.

Pearce will be assisted in Christchurch by fellow English official Christophe Ridley and Japan’s Katsuki Furuse, with South Africa’s Marius van der Westhuizen serving as TMO.

The same opening day also sees O’Keeffe take charge of Australia v Ireland in Sydney, James Doleman appointed to South Africa v England in Johannesburg, and Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli overseeing Argentina v Scotland in Cordoba. Australia’s Nic Berry will referee Japan v Italy in Tokyo, while Ireland’s Eoghan Cross is in the middle for Fiji v Wales in Cardiff.

One of the notable milestones in the appointments comes a week later in Liverpool, where Hollie Davidson will become the first Scottish referee to take charge of 50 Test matches. Davidson, who has been named for Fiji v England at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 11 July, will become just the third female official to reach that landmark, and the 19th overall in Test history. She joins England’s Matthew Carley and South Africa’s Aimee Barrett-Theron in reaching the milestone during 2026.

Elsewhere in the second round of fixtures, Karl Dickson will referee Australia v France in Brisbane, while France’s Luc Ramos takes charge of New Zealand v Italy in Wellington.

Pierre Brousset is appointed to South Africa v Scotland in Pretoria, and Paul Williams will officiate Argentina v Wales in San Juan. Andrea Piardi oversees Japan v Ireland.

The final set of matches in this July window on 18 July includes Angus Gardner refereeing Argentina v England in Santiago del Estero, while Berry takes charge of New Zealand v Ireland at Eden Park.

Andrew Brace will referee South Africa v Wales in Durban, and Ben O’Keeffe is appointed to Japan v France in Tokyo.

Christophe Ridley will handle Australia v Italy in Perth, while Matthew Carley takes charge of Fiji v Scotland in Edinburgh to round off the first chapter of fixtures.