Pascal Gaüzère’s retirement after officiating in his last match on Saturday when in charge of the British & Irish Lions encounter against Japan at Murrayfield has given Wales’ Craig Evans an unexpected opportunity at the top table earlier than expected.
The Frenchmen stepped down after taking charge of his 53rd international match in a career which spanned 11 years. As a result, Evans will replace Gaüzère and make his Tier One international bow at Twickenham on Saturday 10 July when England host Canada with countryman Ben Whitehouse named as the TMO.
Evans will be the first WRU referee to officiate in a Tier One match since Leighton Hodges retired after the 2015 Rugby World Cup which left Nigel Owens flying the flag for Welsh referees at the highest level.
Having spent five successful years on the World Rugby Sevens circuit, WRU National Referee Performance Manager, Paul Adams believes Evans now has a grand opportunity to establish himself in the XV-a-side game.
“We are delighted with Craig’s appointment, he has come through our academy system and is one of our most promising referees,” said Adams.
“Throughout his time on the sevens circuit Craig has continued refereeing XV’s and has come through our National Leagues and Premiership and has made a big impression in the PRO14 this year.
“This appointment is the culmination of a number of years of hard work. Craig’s professionalism is unquestionable and his physical fitness is top class. Craig is one of the most popular referees on the circuit and thoroughly deserving of this honour – hopefully it’s the first of many more to come.”
When Evans received the notification from the game’s governing body he actually thought it was a mistake as he was down on the list twice, once running the line for an international and once for refereeing the England v Canada clash.
“I actually thought it was a typing error as I was down to run the line for USA v Ireland and then I saw another column which said I was reffing the England game. So I rang Paul asking if it was a mistake. He then made a couple of calls then got back to me and said: “Congratulations, you’re going to be a Tier One referee!”
Still coming to terms becoming a new father to Hugo last month with partner Chelsie, Evans will have a lot on his plate in the coming weeks.
He is running the line for the Romania v Argentina clash in Bucharest this Saturday before taking charge at Twickenham next weekend. He then heads for Japan to take part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“I’m still in complete shock to be honest, to get my first Tier One game. It’s incredible to think that I’ve got to this stage so soon – up to this point I’ve had a little bit of involvement in Europe in the Challenge Cup but I haven’t refereed one Champions Cup game yet so in my mind I was thinking I’ll never get a Tier one Test.
“To get this is pretty special and with Nigel [Owens] finishing up on the international stage now I just hope I’m able to do myself and the union justice and keep my name in that hat going forward.
“To have Nigel as my coach moving forward is going to be special and if I can achieve five or 10 percent of what he has achieved in the game, then I’ll be happy. Having him in my corner to support me will not only help me in the short term but also the long term.”
