Alexandre Ruiz facts for kids
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| Birth name | Alexandre Ruiz |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 March 1987 |
| Place of birth | Béziers, France |
Alexandre Ruiz (born March 24, 1987) is a professional rugby union referee from France. He works for the French Rugby Federation. He often referees games in the Top 14, which is France's top rugby league. He has also started refereeing at the highest level of European Rugby.
Contents
Referee Career Highlights
Starting Out as a Referee
Alexandre Ruiz began refereeing rugby games in 2006 when he was just 19 years old. He quickly moved up through the referee ranks in France. By 2010, he was a referee in the Rugby Pro D2 league. This is the second-highest level of club rugby in France. In 2011, he started working as an assistant referee in the Top 14 league.
In March 2012, Ruiz made his first appearance in the World Rugby Sevens Series. This is a big international tournament for rugby sevens, a faster version of rugby with fewer players. His first game was at the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens. He continued to be chosen as a referee for the rest of that season. From the 2012–13 season onwards, he became a regular referee for the series.
Moving Up in Rugby
In January 2013, Ruiz refereed his first Top 14 match. He was in charge of the game between Stade Montois and Toulouse. Later that year, he was chosen to referee games at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia.
Towards the end of 2013, he made his European debut. He refereed a game between Mogliano and Bath in the 2013–14 European Challenge Cup. This is a European club competition. In January 2014, Ruiz became the first French referee to officiate a Pro12 match. This league includes teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Italy. He refereed an Italian derby game between Zebre and Benetton Treviso.
International Matches and Tournaments
Alexandre Ruiz's first international match as a referee was on February 22, 2014. It was a game between the national teams of Georgia and Russia. This match was part of the 2012–14 European Nations Cup First Division.
In June 2014, Ruiz was selected for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand. This is a world championship for young rugby players (under 20). He refereed three games there. These included matches like Ireland against Fiji, and New Zealand against South Africa. He also refereed the Bronze Final, which is the game for third place, between Ireland and New Zealand.
In November 2014, Ruiz was an assistant referee for three international test matches. Two of these were between top-ranked rugby nations. In June 2015, he refereed his first semi-final game in the Top 14. This was the match between Clermont and Toulouse. He also joined the referee panels for the 2015 World Rugby Nations Cup in June and the 2015 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup in July. He refereed the 5th Place play-off game between rivals United States and Canada.
Major Achievements
In January 2016, Ruiz refereed his first Champions Cup match. This is Europe's top club rugby competition. He was in charge of the game between Benetton Treviso and Munster. A few weeks later, Ruiz had his first role in the Six Nations Championship. This is a big tournament for European national teams. He was an assistant referee for the game between England and Ireland, helping the main referee, Romain Poite.
During the 2016 Hong Kong Sevens in April 2016, Ruiz refereed his 100th World Series match. This was a big milestone in his career.
In June 2016, he refereed his first test match that included a Tier 1 nation. This means he was the main referee for a game involving one of the top rugby countries. He refereed Canada's home game against Italy on June 26. After that, he went on to referee at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. He was chosen to referee the Bronze medal game, which decides the third-place winner, between Japan and South Africa.
In September 2016, Ruiz also refereed two Currie Cup games in South Africa.
