Referee profiles A-C

George Ayoub (Australia)

Full name: George Joseph Ayoub
Born: Sydney, 23 October 1963
Educated: St Patrick's College, Strathfield
Occupation: schoolmaster, then referees' manager for NSW
Started refereeing: 1994
Society: New South Wales Referees' Society
First Test: 2002, Japan vs Tonga

Manuel Barros (Portugal)

Full name: Manuel Maria Godinho Quintino de Barros
Born: Lisbon, 6 June 1967
Martial Status: Single
Occupation: Air Liquide in the sales department
Started refereeing: 1998/1999 season
FIRA-AER referee: 2000/2001
Referees' Society: Conselho de Arbitragem

Christophe Berdos (France)

Full name: Christophe David Berdos
Born:Tarbes  in Hautes Pyrénées on 17 April 1970
Occupation: Professional referee
Started refereeing: 1988
Society: first Armagnac Bigorre, then Ile-de-France
First Test: Highlights: Under-21 World Championship in Argentina in 2005
First Test:
Status: IRB's merit panel of referees

Klaus Blank (Germany)

Full name: Klaus Blank
Born: 1960
Family: married to Angelika. They have two sons.
Occupation: Laboratory manager at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen 
Playing career: Started playing at the age of six; played wing.
Started refereeing: 1988
First Test: 1993, Bulgaria vs Lithuania
Number of Test: 5
Other internationals: 9 Sevens, 1 Student, 5 Under-19, 3 Women.
International Tournaments:
1997    Under-19 World Cup, Chile
2000    Women's European Championships in Spain
2001    Under-19 World Cup, Chile

Gérard Borreani (France)

Full name: Gérard Borreani
Born: 10 September 1956
Occupation: physical education teacher
Started refereeing:
Society: Côte d'Azur
First Test:

Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)

Full name: Lyndon Bray
Born: Dundein, 15 November 1966
Educated: Otago University, Dunedin
Occupation: professional referee from 2003
Started refereeing: 1983 with the Otago Referees; Association
Present society: Wellington Referees' Association
First league: 1990
First representative match: 1991
First Test: 2001, Vanuatu vs Papua New Guinea

Graeme Bullen (USA)

Full name: Graeme Richard Bullen
Born: Nelspruit, South Africa, 17 November 1970
Occupation: Corporate banker – oil & gas
Family: married to Meg. They have one child, Maddie
Started refereeing: 1997
Societies: Society of Texas Referees, Western Rugby Referees Society
International panel (USA): 2003
Highlights: USA Super League referee from 2001; IRB Sevens Series in Los Angeles in 2005

David Changleng (Scotland)

Name: David Changleng
Born: 25 April 1970
Family: Married Jenny; they have 1 son Rory
Occupation: PE Teacher at Peebles High School (Scottish Borders)
Playing career: High Scoring flyhalf for Gala RFC playing alongside Gregor Townsend and Chris Paterson. Scotland Under-21 Cap
Started refereeing: 1997. 
Refereeing career: Regular Celtic League and European Cup Referee, Semi-final Under-21 World Cup 2003-04 in Oxford, Under-19 World Cup in Chile 1999, touch judge for various Six Nations and Tri-Nations matches
Often mistaken on the field for twin bother Malcolm.

Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)

Name: Malcolm Changleng
Born: 25 April 1970 (unsurprisingly)
Family: Married Lorna; they have 1 daughter Anna
Malcolm has agreed with Jenny and Anna that if he's away for more than 2 nights, they require a present.
Occupation: Professional Referee
Playing career: Fullback for Gala RFC alongside Gregor Townsend and Chris Paterson in the side which won Scottish Cup in 1999. Represented the Borders 1996-97 in the European Cup.
Refereeing: Touch judge England vs South Africa and Australia as well as Italy vs Wales in Six Nations 2005.  Refereed Under-21 World Cup in Argentina refereeing the top semi-final NZ vs South Africa.  Refereed Quarter-Final Cup and Bowl Final RWC Sevens in Hong Kong 2005.  Refereed IRB sevens final in Singapore NZ vs England

Andrew Cole (Australia)

Full name Andrew John Cole
Born: Brisbane, 1 October 1960
Educated: Marist Brothers’ College, Ashgrove, University of Queensland 
Family: Married to Anne-Maree with three children - Michael, David and Megan
Occupation: professional referee, dentist
Started refereeing: 1977
First test: 1997, Samoa vs Tonga

George Clancy (Ireland)

Full name: George John Clancy
Born: 12 January 1977
Education: St Munchin's College, University of Limeric
Occupation: civil servant
Family: wife Evelyn
Playing career: school and club
Started refereeing: 1999
Society: Munster Association of Referees
Highlights: Heienken Cup in 2004, IRB's Under-19 World Championship in Durban in 2005, Under-21 World Championship in France in 2006
First Test: Ururguay vs USA in 2006

Donal Courtney (Ireland)

Full name: Donal Gerard Courtney
Born:Dublin, 22 May 1964
Educated: Christian Brothers College Monkstown Park, Trinity College Dublin, Master of Business Studies, Fellow of the Institute Of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
Occupation: chartered accountant, European CFO of the General Motors property financing bank based in Dublin's International Financial Services Centre
Family: Married to Sarah with three children
Playing career: Wing for Monkstown
Started refereeing: 1992
Referees' Society: Leinster Branch of Referees
First Test: 2002, Uruguay vs USA