Two of Welsh rugby's top young referees, James Jones and Tim Hayes, have been handed the honour of officiating at the IRB Junior World Championships in Wales this summer, from 6 - 22 June.
Jones 29 and Hayes 34 have both featured on the WRU referee list since September 1996 - with Jones joining as a 17-year-old - and have regularly officiated in both the Magners League and the Heineken Cup competitions.
Jones has the Under 19 2007 Rugby World Cup Final in Belfast already on his CV and is currently on the IRB World 7s Circuit.
Hayes has refereed at the U21 World Cup in 2007 and took charge of the tier two international between Samoa and Japan last June as well as the Japan v Junior All Blacks game, he is currently a member of the IRB touch judge panel.
"The Junior World Championship will provide a huge stepping stone for its officials just as it does for the players who take part," said WRU manager of match officials Robert Yemen.
"We are delighted for both James and Tim and, with just 10 referees on the IRB panel for the tournament, we are equally proud of the fact that the WRU will be so well represented.
"With the next senior World Cup three years away both of our referees have a huge opportunity to add to their experience in June and refine their skills as they bid to be the 55th and 56th Welshmen to become fully fledged international referees - following in the recent footsteps of the highly successful Nigel Owens who achieved that status in 2005."
The International Rugby Board has announced the full panel of referees who will take charge of matches at the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship.
The panel comprises a blend of the best up and coming international referees who have impressed in the IRB Sevens World Series and previous IRB Age Grade Tournaments and will officiate the 40 Championship matches across the four host venues in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham.
Nine Unions are represented within the 10-strong panel. In addition to providing a high intensity testing ground, the IRB Junior World Championship also plays a significant role in the ongoing development of international referees.
"The IRB Junior World Championship is a testing ground for the future stars of world Rugby to showcase their talents in a highly competitive Tournament environment, and the same can be said of the match officials who will be taking charge of the matches in Wales," said IRB Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien.
"The Tournament, alongside the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy and IRB Sevens World Series, plays an important developmental role for the IRB's match officials in terms of preparing them for the Test arena."
For those selected the Tournament represents the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a number of top referees such as Owens, Wayne Barnes, Bryce Lawrence, Craig Joubert, Marius Jonker and Christophe Berdos, who have advanced to referee Test matches on the back of their performances at IRB Age Grade Tournaments.
"The panel selected for the IRB Junior World Championship has an exciting complexion. We feel that all 10 of them are potential Test referees so it is a huge opportunity for them to perform in front of the selectors," added O'Brien.
Individual match appointments for the pool stages of the Tournament will be made when the match officials arrive in Wales in late May. Performances will then be assessed before appointments for the final rounds are made . A panel of six specialist touch judges will be appointed in due course.
IRB Junior World Championship 2008 Referees
Andrew Small (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
James Jones (Wales)
Tim Hayes (Wales)
Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
James Leckie (Australia)
Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
James Bolabiu (Fiji)
Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Jones 29 and Hayes 34 have both featured on the WRU referee list since September 1996 - with Jones joining as a 17-year-old - and have regularly officiated in both the Magners League and the Heineken Cup competitions.
Jones has the Under 19 2007 Rugby World Cup Final in Belfast already on his CV and is currently on the IRB World 7s Circuit.
Hayes has refereed at the U21 World Cup in 2007 and took charge of the tier two international between Samoa and Japan last June as well as the Japan v Junior All Blacks game, he is currently a member of the IRB touch judge panel.
"The Junior World Championship will provide a huge stepping stone for its officials just as it does for the players who take part," said WRU manager of match officials Robert Yemen.
"We are delighted for both James and Tim and, with just 10 referees on the IRB panel for the tournament, we are equally proud of the fact that the WRU will be so well represented.
"With the next senior World Cup three years away both of our referees have a huge opportunity to add to their experience in June and refine their skills as they bid to be the 55th and 56th Welshmen to become fully fledged international referees - following in the recent footsteps of the highly successful Nigel Owens who achieved that status in 2005."
The International Rugby Board has announced the full panel of referees who will take charge of matches at the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship.
The panel comprises a blend of the best up and coming international referees who have impressed in the IRB Sevens World Series and previous IRB Age Grade Tournaments and will officiate the 40 Championship matches across the four host venues in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham.
Nine Unions are represented within the 10-strong panel. In addition to providing a high intensity testing ground, the IRB Junior World Championship also plays a significant role in the ongoing development of international referees.
"The IRB Junior World Championship is a testing ground for the future stars of world Rugby to showcase their talents in a highly competitive Tournament environment, and the same can be said of the match officials who will be taking charge of the matches in Wales," said IRB Referee Manager Paddy O'Brien.
"The Tournament, alongside the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy and IRB Sevens World Series, plays an important developmental role for the IRB's match officials in terms of preparing them for the Test arena."
For those selected the Tournament represents the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of a number of top referees such as Owens, Wayne Barnes, Bryce Lawrence, Craig Joubert, Marius Jonker and Christophe Berdos, who have advanced to referee Test matches on the back of their performances at IRB Age Grade Tournaments.
"The panel selected for the IRB Junior World Championship has an exciting complexion. We feel that all 10 of them are potential Test referees so it is a huge opportunity for them to perform in front of the selectors," added O'Brien.
Individual match appointments for the pool stages of the Tournament will be made when the match officials arrive in Wales in late May. Performances will then be assessed before appointments for the final rounds are made . A panel of six specialist touch judges will be appointed in due course.
IRB Junior World Championship 2008 Referees
Andrew Small (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
James Jones (Wales)
Tim Hayes (Wales)
Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
James Leckie (Australia)
Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
James Bolabiu (Fiji)
Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
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