France's Jerome Garces has earned the nod to referee Saturday's Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa in Yokohama.
Garces will be joined by compatriot Romain Poite (assistant), while New Zealand will be represented by Ben O'Keeffe (assistant) and Ben Skeen (TMO).
One of the world’s most experienced referees with 55 tests, Garces will be the first Frenchman to take charge of a Rugby World Cup final.
The All Blacks third-fourth playoff will be controlled by England's Wayne Barnes, alongside France's Pascal Gauzere and South Africa's Jaco Peyper.
The match will be Barnes' final test, before he heads into refereeing retirement.
Peyper returns to the fold, after not being considered for either semi-final, due to a controversial image that emerged on social media, showing him imitating a violent red-card offence in the quarter-final he controlled between France and Wales.
Garces said he was both "honoured and delighted" to win the appointment.
"It is a dream, as a referee," said Garces. "But this is a team sport and as a team of four, we will be out there to do the best for the teams, the fans, the sport, but also the entire match officials team, selectors and support team, who have worked so hard over the last four years."
Join us for live updates of the England v South Africa World Cup final from 10pm Saturday
Newshub.
