World Rugby has announced the Emirates Match Official panel for the World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026, which will take place in Georgia from 27 June to 18 July in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Two officials from Hong Kong China have been selected.
World Rugby Talent ID Manager and Tournament Referee Manager Johnny Lacey said: “The selection of this panel highlights the officials that are coming through our pathway system. It’s great to see all of World Rugby’s regional associations and regional competitions represented.
I would like to thank the regional referee managers and regional competition managers for their work and commitment to developing these officials through their competitions.”
The governing body confirmed that 14 unions are represented across the 12 referees and four Television Match Officials selected, which includes Hong Kong China’s Morgan White as a match official (Referee and AR) and Matt Rodden as TMO – he is the current Head of Refereeing at Hong Kong China Rugby.
White refereed at the Cathay HSBC Hong Kong SVNS in April, as well as the two NZ U85kg vs Sri Lanka Men’s matches in Colombo, and is listed to be part of the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2026, which is underway.
Match Officials – World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026
Saba Makharadze (Georgia) will referee the opening match in Tbilisi between Argentina and USA on 27 July, while Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland) will take charge of Italy v Scotland in the first match in Kutaisi.
The selected referees are:
- Morgan White (Hong Kong China)
- Christopher Allison (South Africa)
- Kevin Bralley (France)
- Ruairidh Campbell (Scotland)
- Ben Connor (Wales)
- Gonzalo de Achaval (Argentina)
- Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
- Reuben Keane (Australia)
- Saba Makharadze (Georgia)
- Luke Rogan (USA)
- George Selwood (England)
- David Vosalevu (Fiji)
Morgan White is due to be involved in the following pool fixtures:
- France v Fiji – Saturday, 27 June, 2026 – Referee
- South Africa v Georgia – Thursday, 2 July, 2026 – Referee
- New Zealand v Italy – Tuesday, 7 July, 2026 – Assistant Referee 1
- Scotland v Japan – Tuesday, 7 July, 2026 – Assistant Referee 1
TMO – World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026
Photo Credit – HKCR – Matt Rodden
The four TMOs are:
- Matt Rodden (Hong Kong China)
- Aled Griffiths (Wales)
- Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
- Francisco González (Uruguay)
Matt Rodden is due to be involved as the TMO in the following pool fixtures:
- Argentina v USA – Saturday, 27 June, 2026
- Wales v Georgia – Saturday, 27 June, 2026
- France v Spain – Thursday, 2 July, 2026
- New Zealand v Scotland – Thursday, 2 July, 2026
- Argentina v England – Tuesday, 7 July, 2026
- Georgia v Uruguay – Tuesday, 7 July, 2026
All of the appointments for the pool stage can be seen here.
South Africa is the defending champion after beating New Zealand in the 2025 final in Italy. The Junior Springboks also arrive as the U20 Rugby Championship winners, while France successfully defended their U20 Six Nations title earlier this year.
Japan are the sole Asian representation and is in Pool A with New Zealand, Italy and Scotland.
Japan U20 Schedule
- Saturday 27 June 2026 – Japan vs New Zealand
- Thursday 2 July 2026 – Japan vs Italy
- Tuesday 7 July 2026 – Japan vs Scotland
The full schedule for the tournament can be seen here.
