While Owens will extend his world record tally by taking charge of the Italy v New Zealand game in Rome’s Olympic Stadium on 12 November, there will be a first World Rugby Test for the 26-year-old Whitehouse when he controls the game between Lynn Howells’ Romanian team and Uruguay at the Arcol de Triomph stadium in Bucharest on 26 November.
Owens will also back-up Ireland’s George Clancy when Italy host South Africa in Florence on 19 November, while Whitehouse will get further experience by acting as the No 2 Assistant Referee in the first of two meetings between Ireland and the All Blacks at Soldier’s Field, Chicago, on 5 November and England v Australia at Twickenham on 3 December.
Ian Davies and Dan Jones will also act as Assistant Referees, while Gareth Simmonds and Jon Mason will be on TMO duty during a month that is jammed packed with international rugby across Europe. Davies will join John Lacey (referee) and Ben OKeeffe (AR1) for Scotland’s clash with Australia at BT Murrayfield on 12 November and then head to Dublin a week later for the second part of Ireland v New Zealand in conjunction with Jaco Peyper (referee) and Mathieu Raynal (AR1).
Jones, meanwhile, will be involved in three matches. He will be in Tbilisi on 12 November as AR2 for the clash between the 2015 RWC teams, Georgia and Japan, at the Mikhail Meskhi Stadium before heading to Malaga for a similar role in the game between Spain and Uruguay. His final assignment is in Edinburgh, where he will join Matt Carley (referee) and Raynal (AR1) for Scotland v Georgia.
“This is testament to the hard work that has been put in over the last couple of years by the WRU in investing in an academy for referees and it is great to see both Ben and Dan, original members of that system, now being recognised by World Rugby,” said Nigel Whitehouse, the Welsh Rugby Union’s National Match Officials Manager.
“These appointments come on top of the news last week that Craig Evans and Adam Jones have been included on the panel for the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for the 2016/17 season. I’m delighted by the progress we are making within our system and the recognition we are now getting on the global stage.
“As the game gets more and more professional, so the match officials need to keep pace and become more professional themselves. They spend a lot of time training, analysing their performances and, of course, travelling.
“It can be a tough existence, but appointments like these make all the hard work well worth it. We have a rich tradition of producing some of the world’s best referees and the current crop are working hard to ensure they continue the good work of Nigel Owens when he finally hangs up his whistle.
“The line that began with the likes of Tommy Schofield, Tommy Vile and Albert Freethy, continued with Ivor David, Gwynne Walters and Meirion Joseph and then led onto Clive Norling, Derek Bevan, Clayton Thomas and, more recently, Nigel Owens is one that we certainly want to see continued long into the future.”
Ben Whitehouse, who took up the whistle at 19, is following in the footsteps of his father, Nigel, in earning a World Rugby appointment. Nigel controlled 21 Tests during his career after he was forced to give up rugby through injury after reaching the Wales B squad.
“Along with the professional pride of seeing young Welsh referees developing onto the world stage, I’m also a proud dad at this time. Ben has worked very hard to earn the opportunities he’s getting this season, he now needs to keep working hard to maintain standards and continue to improve.
“Dan Jones was in the Cardiff Blues academy system as a player before he was forced to give up the game at a young age through injury. He decided to try his hand at refereeing at the age of 21 and has made massive strides,” added Nigel Whitehouse.
“I am constantly trying to encourage ex-players, youngsters who feel they aren’t going to make the grade or who have picked up injuries to try their hand at refereeing. There is a constant need for more match officials, just as in any sport, and we are able to fast-track those who have an aptitude for it.
“It is hard work, but the rewards are there for all to see after the recent World Rugby appointments. We have some tough domestic leagues in which to launch our referees and then there is a clear pathway via the British & Irish Cup, Guinness PRO12 and European rugby to the international stage.”
There are no fewer than 33 internationals in November and December. All 10 tier one unions will be involved as well as 15 from tier two, and there will be seven matches involving both.
The four games in the Under Armour Series 2016 involving Wales will be handled by the following officials:
5 November: Wales v Australia
Ref: Craig Joubert (SA); AR1: Jerome Garces (Fr); AR2: Federico Ansemli (Arg)
TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ir)
12 November: Wales v Argentina
Ref: Angus Gardner (Aus); AR1: Mike Fraser (NZ); AR2: Luke Pearce (Eng)
TMO: Sean Davey (Eng)
19 November: Wales v Japan
Ref: Marius Van Der Westhuizen (SA); AR1: John Lacey (Ir); AR2: Craig Maxwell Keys (Eng)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fr)
26 November: Wales v South Africa
Ref: Romain Poite (Fr); AR1: Greg Garner (Eng); AR2: Tom Foley (Eng)
TMO: Graham Hughes (Eng)
