World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont believes the standard of refereeing at the World Cup in Japan has improved as the tournament progressed.

The refereeing at the World Cup has come under intense scrutiny following several contentious officiating calls, especially with regard to the new high-tackle laws and the guidelines for policing those laws.

In the first week of the tournament already, World Rugby was moved to issue a statement admitting  that several of its referee officials’ performances were ‘not consistent with the standards set by World Rugby’.

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But Beaumont has since changed tune, saying that the officiating was been of a high quality since that first weekend.

‘It was not a major criticism, it was an observation, saying that as a player you have good days, bad days and sometimes referees are the same. I would think certainly the refereeing has improved,’ Beaumont said.

”I think the refereeing has been good. I think the use of the assistant referee on the sidelines has worked well. So, certainly, we’re pleased.’

‘Since I’ve been retired, every decision I’ve made on the rugby field has been the right one,’ he added.

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