Joël Dumé is certainly no stranger to the Rugby World Cup scene with the French referee in line for his third tournament, having made his debut with Samoa’s 42-18 defeat of Italy in May 1995.
The 43-year-old, who was born in Preignac and is married with two children, was on hand again four years later when he was given responsibility for the games involving Ireland and the United States in Dublin and Wales and Japan in Cardiff.
Dumé started refereeing in 1980, qualifying as a French Federation referee three years later and furthering his development with exchange trips to Scotland and Wales, before making his Test debut on February 6 1993.
That debut came in the Five Nations fixture at Cardiff Arms Park when Wales beat England 10-9 and two years later he refereed the Welsh again, this time sending off their replacement Garin Jenkins in a 40-11 defeat by South Africa in Johannesburg.
Dumé, who has controlled more than 20 Test matches and was promoted to the IRB’s panel of 26 international referees in April 2003, is the Director of Administration for the Cote d’Argent rugby province in France, the main city of which is Bordeaux.