Emirates Match Official appointments confirmed for August to October men’s internationals

• Sixteen officials from nine unions to officiate the 22 matches across six countries 
• Match official profiles are available in the Media Zone 

World Rugby has confirmed the Emirates Match Official appointments for 22 matches from August to October, which include the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and New Zealand and the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 in Japan.  

VIEW RUGBY’S GREATEST RIVALRY APPOINTMENTS >> 
VIEW PACIFIC NATIONS CUP APPOINTMENTS >> 
VIEW MEN’S INTERNATIONAL APPOINTMENTS >>  

Eoghan Cross (Ireland) will referee the first test of the window between Japan and Australia in Osaka on 8 August with Luke Pearce (England) taking charge of the last, the second Bledisloe Cup encounter between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on 17 October.  

Matthew Carley (England), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Angus Gardner (Australia) will referee the first three tests of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between the Springboks and New Zealand in South Africa, which take place on 22 and 29 August and 5 September.  

Karl Dickson (England, pictured) will then take charge of the fourth test in Baltimore, USA, on 12 September with the quartet to also officiate the other four matches on the tour against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions.   

The Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 gets underway the same day in Osaka with Katsuki Furuse (Japan) to referee Fiji v Canada and Jordan Way (Australia) the Japan v USA encounter. The appointments for the final round in Tokyo on 19 September will be confirmed once the fixtures are set following the semi-finals the previous weekend.  

Ten matches – nine of them tests – will also take place across August, September and October in five countries, many of them standalone internationals alongside the annual Bledisloe Cup showdown between Australia and New Zealand.