Jones, who took up the whistle after picking up a back injury after playing alongside Sam Warburton in the Whitchurch HS 1st XV that won the Welsh Schools Under 18 title, has joined Nigel Owens, Ben Whitehouse and Craig Evans on the union’s full-time list and has been given three assignments in the November international window.
“Dan was appointed last month as our fourth professional referee. That was as a result of some excellent performances at the Junior World Cup in the summer, when he did a semi-final and only just missed out on the final,” said Paul Adams, WRU National Performance Referee Manager.
“He has been doing PRO14 matches for three years, and is starting to get some high profile fixtures, and he is also doing Challenge Cup matches in Europe. They are all around 27-28 years of age, which is the ideal age for them all to move to the next stage.
“Ben, Craig and Dan were all in our original academy and it is great to see them all progressing so well.”
The biggest game of his officiating career will come at Stade Chaban Delmas on Saturday, 10 November, when he will be the man in the middle of the game between the French Barbarians and Tonga. On that occasion he will have fellow countryman Evans for comfort as the No 2 assistant referee.
Jones will then be alongside Owens as the No 2 assistant referee on successive weekends at Twickenham (England v Japan) and Edinburgh (Scotland v Argentina). Owens will extend his world record as a referee when he takes charge of the games between Ireland and Italy in Chicago and France v South Africa in Paris.
Whitehouse has three appointments, including refereeing the game between Romania and Uruguay in Bucharest, while Davies is on the line for France v Argentina in Lille and then TMO for Ireland v USA in Dublin.
With Rugby World Cup 2019 less than a year away, the matches provide important preparation for teams and match officials alike, and match official performances over the period will be taken into account when the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee, chaired by WRU council member Anthony Buchanan, meets to select the team for rugby’s showcase event.
Selections have been made for the Tier 1 hosted tests that will feature the revised Television Match Official trial, the all-important Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage in Marseille that will confirm the 20th and final team, and key World Rugby supported fixtures within an unprecedented programme of November fixtures.
Brendon Pickerill (NZR) will get a busy programme underway on 26 October when he takes charge of Japan’s match against a World XV in Hanazono, while Wayne Barnes will referee Ireland v New Zealand in Dublin on 17 November – a match that sees the current top two ranked teams go head to head.
Other highlights include Karl Dickson (RFU) making his senior international debut when he referees Georgia v Samoa in Tbilisi, while experienced referees Wayne Barnes (RFU), Pascal Gauzere (FFR), Jaco Peyper (SARU), Angus Gardner (Rugby Australia), Romain Poite (FFR) and Luke Pearce (RFU) will take charge of the Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage matches in Marseille.
On the road to Rugby World Cup 2019, the match officials will gather in London for a preparation camp prior to the November tests. World Rugby hosts two main camps a year where the officials can align and calibrate approach as a group and also with team coaches.
“We are a focused on arriving at Japan 2019 with a team of match officials who are in the form of their lives from a performance, fitness and mind-set perspective. We have a very talented group to choose from,” said Buchanan.
“They work exceptionally well together behind the scenes to strive for the collective goal of clear, accurate and consistent decision-making, and that has been very evident both in the camps that we have hosted and recent performances on the field.
“This November selection provides another opportunity to assess performance in a high-intensity team camp environment that is not dissimilar to a Rugby World Cup. It will further inform us as to who is in the frame for RWC 2019.”
The revised TMO protocol trial, which will operate in the Tier 1 union hosted test matches, is aimed at lessening time impact and placing greater decision-making responsibility on the referee and assistant referee team, while still supporting accuracy of decisions.
Away from the November internationals, Craig Evans is doing eight of the 10 legs of the HSBC World Sevens Series, missing the opening two legs in Dubai and Cape Town. Adam Jones will be involved in the sixth and final round of the Women’s Series in Paris.
Welsh Appointments
3 November – Ireland v Italy (Chicago)
Ref: Nigel Owens
10 November – French Barbarians v Tonga (Bordeaux)
Ref: Dan Jones
AR 2: Craig Evans
10 November – France v South Africa (Paris)
Ref: Nigel Owens
17 November – Georgia v Samoa (Tbilisi)
AR 1: Ben Whitehouse
Uruguay v Fiji (Hartpury College)
AR 2: Craig Evans
England v Japan (Twickenham)
AR 1: Nigel Owens
AR 2: Dan Jones
France v Argentina (Lille)
AR 2: Ian Davies
24 November – Scotland v Argentina (Edinburgh)
AR 1: Nigel Owens
AR 2: Dan Jones
24 November – Ireland v USA (Dublin)
TMO: Ian Davies
Romania v Uruguay (Bucharest)
Ref: Ben Whitehouse
1 December – Barbarians v Argentina (Twickenham)
AR 2: Ben Whitehouse
Under Armour Series Match Officials
Wales v Scotland
Ref: Mathieu Raynal (France)
AR 1: Wayne Barnes (England)
AR 2: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Wales v Australia
Ref: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
AR 1: Romain Poite (France)
AR 2: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Wales v Tonga
Ref: Nic Berry (Australia)
AR 1: Angus Gardner (Australia)
AR 2: Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Wales v South Africa
Ref: Luke Pearce (England)
AR 1: Wayne Barnes (England)
AR 2: Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
