Australian referee Peter Marshall is, at 48, the oldest of the 26 referees on the Provisional list for Rugby World Cup 2003, albeit only by a few months from England’s Steve Lander and David McHugh of Ireland.
Marshall, a member of the New South Wales Referees Association, took his first tentative steps as a referee in 1986 and seven years later made his Test debut in Suva when visitors Tonga beat Fiji 24-11.
The Sydney born official, who has in the past described refereeing as “the best seat in the house”, has gone on to control more than 20 Test matches in the last decade involving most of the sport’s leading nations.
Marshall is no stranger to officiating at a Rugby World Cup, the Australian having been selected for the 1999 tournament and given responsibility for the third place playoff when South Africa beat New Zealand 22-18 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
Earlier this year Marshall was named the Vodafone Referee of the Super 12 Series at the Australian awards ceremony in Sydney, one of his highlights having been controlling the semi final between Canterbury Crusaders and Wellington Hurricanes.
Marshall, before turning to refereeing, played as a centre for the Manly first team.