The Rugby World Cup quarter-final referees have been confirmed by World Rugby with an even split of northern and southern hemisphere officials for the four games this weekend.

Wayne Barnes will become the first referee to take charge of four quarter-finals when he lines up for Ireland v New Zealand on Saturday night at the Stade de France in Paris. Barnes will be assisted by countrymen Matthew Carley and Christophe Ridley with another Englishman in Tom Foley on TMO duty.

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Quarter-final referees revealed

South African Jaco Peyper will whistle his second consecutive quarter-final involving Wales when they take on Argentina in Saturday’s first quarter-final in Marseille. Peyper sent off France second-row Sébastien Vahaamahina as Warren Gatland’s side won 20-19 v France in Oita. Peyper posed with his elbow out in a controversial photo snapped with Wales fans after the game and was subsequently not handed a semi-final.

Peyper’s assistants are Karl Dickson and Italian Andrea Piardi while fellow South African Marius Jonker will be operating as TMO.

England’s game against Fiji will be refereed by Frenchman Mathieu Raynal in tandem with assistants Nic Berry and Pierre Brousset with Wales’ Ben Whitehouse acting as the TMO in Marseille on Sunday.

Hosts France will take on South Africa with Kiwi Ben O’Keefe overseeing proceedings in the capital. He will have compatriots Paul Williams and James Doleman running touch while fellow New Zealander Brendon Pickerill is the TMO.

However, there was no space for England’s Luke Pearce or Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli, even as assistant referees, in the quarter-final line-up. World Rugby said those not included are still in contention for the semi-finals but four years ago both semi-final referees were given last-eight ties.

World Rugby High Performance 15s Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge said: “Congratulations to those appointed. It was a very difficult selection as the performance level has been high. As a team, the match officials have worked hard to achieve consistency of performance and clarity of decision-making that enables the players to do what they do best.

“There is a strong culture within this group and a strong understanding with the teams owing to the preparation achieved over the last year and beyond. While it is the referees who will get the recognition for the appointments, this is a team game. We have an excellent team of referees, assistant referees and TMOs with a strong team ethic for the group to be the best it can be as a whole.”