Australia’s opening match in this year’s rugby union World Cup against Fiji will be refereed by New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe.
The match in Sapporo on September 21 will see Irishman Andrew Brace and England’s Luke Pearce back up O’Keeffe as assistant referees.
Pearce will also take the flag for the Wallabies’ crunch Group D showdown against Wales in Tokyo eight days later, with Romain Poite in charge.
Poite’s fellow Frenchmen Mathieu Raynal and Pascal Gauzere will officiate Australia’s other pool games against Uruguay and Georgia respectively, World Rugby announced on Friday.
Australian officials Nic Berry and Angus Gardner are to make their World Cup officiating debuts at the tournament.
Brisbane official Berry will referee England v USA, Ireland v Samoa, Italy v Namibia and France v Tonga while Sydney-based Gardner will officiate Ireland’s second pool fixture against hosts Japan as well as France v Argetnina and Wales’ clash with Uruguay.
Welshman Nigel Owens, who refereed the 2015 World Cup final between the Wallabies and New Zealand at Twickenham in London, will get the 2019 tournament under way when he takes charge of the opening game between Japan and Russia in Tokyo on September 20.
Owens, widely regarded as the best referee in the game, will be appearing in his fourth World Cup and will also take the whistle for Italy v Canada and England v Argentina.
England’s Wayne Barnes is also officiating for the fourth time while South Africa’s Jaco Peyper is on course to take charge of his 50th international: Japan v Samoa on October 5.
Like Berry and Gardner, England’s Pearce and O’Keeffe are also debuting in Japan as part of a total team of 23 officials for the 48 matches, culminating in the final on November 2.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said: “Just like for the players and coaches, Rugby World Cup represents the pinnacle of a match official’s career and I would like to congratulate the team of 12 referees, seven assistant referees and four TMOs who have achieved selection today through their hard work, commitment and dedication to excellence.”