Silverwood to referee World Cup final

Richard Silverwood has been named as the referee for Saturday’s World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Old Trafford.

Silverwood, 37, is no stranger to matches between the two nations, having been the man in the middle for four consecutive Anzac Test matches between 2009 and 2012, and their match at the 2010 Four Nations.

He will be assisted by touch judges James Child (England) and Grant Atkins (Australia), while Ben Cummins (Australia) is reserve referee.

As with the semi-finals, a second video referee has been appointed to add another level of scrutiny to the decisions.

The video referee will be Ashley Klein (Australia), with Henry Perenara as the second video referee.