Wayne Barnes to take charge of the World Cup final

Nic Berry named referee for the Bronze final with Ireland's Andrew Brace supporting him as assistant referee.

FINAL REFEREE: England's Wayne Barnes to take charge of the RWC Final between New Zealand and South Africa. Pic: ©INPHO/Photosport/Andrew Cornaga

England's Wayne Barnes is to take charge of the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa on Saturday October 28 at the Stade de France.

Barnes is the world's most capped referee with 110 tests having made his debut with Fiji and Samoa in Suva in June 2006. Barnes becomes the second Englishman to officiate a Rugby World Cup Final after Ed Morrison who took charge of the 1995 decider between New Zealand and South Africa.

Barnes has shared his delighted on X on being chosen to take charge of the final "It is the greatest honour of my career to be given the responsibility of refereeing a Rugby World Cup final 2023".

It is the greatest honour of my career to be given the responsibility of refereeing a Rugby World Cup final 2023. https://t.co/bZ3O1mezuS

— Wayne Barnes (@WayneBarnesRef) October 23, 2023

The 44-year-old add his name to the honour roll of Rugby World Cup final referees which include Kerry Fitzgerarld (Australia, 1987), Derek Bevan (Wales, 1991), Andre Watson (South Africa, 1999 and 2003), Alain Rolland (Ireland, 2007), Craig Joubert (South Africa, 2011), Nigel Owens (Wales, 2015) and Jérôme Garcès (France, 2019).

This will be a record 27th Rugby World Cup match as referee for Barnes in his fifth tournament. This will be his sixth game as man in the middle during the France 2023 tournament and he equals the record he set at the RWC in 2019 when he took charge of New Zealand's defeat of Wales in the Bronze final in Tokyo.

Barnes will be joined by compatriots Karl Dickson and Matthew Carley as his assistant referees with Tom Foley named as Television Match Official.

BRONZE FINAL REFEREE: Australia's Nic Berry to take charge of the Bronze final between England and Argentina. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Australia's Nic Berry will take charge of the Bronze final between England and Argentina on Friday October 27 at the Stade de France.  Ireland's Andrew Brace and Georgia's Nika Amashukeli will be Berry's assistant referees with Ben Whitehouse of Wales as Television Match Official. 

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “On behalf of World Rugby, I would like to congratulate Wayne Barnes on his deserved appointment as the Rugby World Cup 2023 final referee. Such an appointment is a reflection of Wayne’s calibre, not just at this tournament but over a distinguished career.

“It is a result of his devotion to the game, the support of his family and the spirit of collaboration and excellence that exists across our entire match official team. We wish him and Nic Berry well this weekend.”