Return to Ireland for Joël Jutge. The former French international referee is appointed head of match officials within World Rugby, the world body for the discipline. He had already held the same position between 2012 and 2015, before leaving for EPCR, the organization in charge of the European rugby cups. Joël Jutge will take up his duties next January. He will be placed under the direction of World Rugby's director of high performance, Irishman Joe Schmidt. The Frenchman will notably be in charge of performance management and development of international match officials – men and women – with a view to the women's World Cups in 2021 in New Zealand, then men's in 2023 in France. He will also be responsible for training the next generation of international match officials.
