Rugby World Cup 2023: who is the referee for Uruguay vs Namibia? TMO and touch judges confirmed

Uruguay and Namibia will both be aiming to record their first wins at the 2023 Rugby World Cup this week.

The Tier 2 sides will meet on the field at OL Stadium in Lyon in the Pool A clash on Wednesday, 27 September. It is only the second mid-week clash to take place in the tournament.

Uruguay have had an eventful start to the competition having put in a spirited display against a much-changed French side in the second round. Los Todos followed that up by storming into a 10 point lead against Italy before a yellow-card in the opening stages of the second-half tipped the scales back in favour of the Six Nations-side.

Los Todos will be hoping that it will be third time the charm when they take on Namibia. The African team have endured a torid time in the Rugby World Cup in 2023 so far.

Namibia opened their campaign with a 52-8 loss to Italy in round one, followed by 71-3 and 96-0 defeats to New Zealand and France respectively. They will be hoping for a better performance on Wednesday evening.

But who will be the match officials at OL Stadium in Lyon on 27 September? Here's all you need to know:

Who is the referee for Uruguay vs Namibia?

French official Mathieu Raynal will be the man with the whistle for the game in Lyon on Wednesday evening. It is his third game of the tournament - having taken charge of matches on the first two weekends.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup is Raynal's second world cup, having made his bow in 2019 - after serving as an assistant in 2015. Raynal made his refereeing debut in 2005 in the Rugby Pro D2 and has since taken charge of games in the Top 14, Champions Cup and test matches.

He has refereed England vs Argentina and South Africa vs Romania so far in the tournament.

Who is the TMO and the touch judges?

Raynal will be joined by Australian referee Nic Berry and Irish official Chris Busby will be the touch judges for the match in Lyon. Berry has refereed two matches at the tournament including Argentina vs Samoa last Friday (22 September).

Busby has served as a touch judge throughout the tournament and the Uruguay vs Namibia will be his fourth game of the world cup so far.

The TMO will be Welsh official Ben Whitehouse. He has been in the hot seat for each of the rounds so far including Uruguay's round two fixture against France.

How to watch Uruguay vs Namibia?

ITV (and STV in Scotland) have exclusive broadcasting rights for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and will show every game live. Uruguay vs Namibia will be broadcast on ITV4 - and ITVX streaming service - with coverage starting at 4pm.

The game will kick-off at 4.45pm.