Referee Angus Gardner has been switched out of this weekend’s England Argentina clash, according to a report from Rugby Pass.
Ben O’Keefe of New Zealand will be replacing Gardner as an assistant referee, while Gardner will instead be posted to AR duty on Japan versus Samoa.
Angus Gardner is terrible referee, he proved it for the France/Argentina game and is proving it again. @WorldRugby is going have to deal with refereeing as the major talking point of this competition https://t.co/myUdepFWvW
— Anthony Coyne (@antoc24) September 28, 2019
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt received confirmation from World Rugby that three penalties awarded to Japan during last Sunday’s historic 19-12 defeat to the host nation in Shizuoka were incorrect calls by the Australian referee and his match officials.
A statement from World Rugby reads: “Ben O’Keefe is replacing Angus Gardner as Assistant Referee 1.
“Angus Gardner is replacing Ben O’Keeffe.”