World Rugby has confirmed the Emirates Match Official appointments for all three levels of the inaugural WXV competition, which will take place in New Zealand, South Africa and Dubai in October and November. USA Referee Kat Roche has the honor of refereeing the first-ever WXV match with Italy v Japan in Stellenbosch, South Africa on October 13 – an hour before fellow American Amelia Luciano takes charge of the WXV 3 opener between Fiji and Colombia in Dubai. This will be Luciano’s first test match in the middle since September 2019.
Appointments have been made for the first two rounds in each level of WXV, World Rugby’s new international women’s 15s competition, with each of the six referees on the respective panels to take charge of one match.
USA Rugby Referee Manager, Jamie McGregor said on the appointments, "Seeing American referees on the pitch is always an accomplishment to celebrate, we couldn't be more excited for Amelia and Kat this fall and look forward to tuning in."
World Rugby Women’s High Performance Referee Manager, Alhambra Nievas said: “WXV provides a new and great opportunity to see a wider group of match officials, with a mix of experience and new talent detected through domestic and regional competitions. The new global competition will play a big part in the journey to Rugby World Cup 2025.”
