Breakdown: "The first thing that the referees will look to ensure is that it is a fair and equitable contest for the ball. That is that the arriving players from either team must stay on their feet. It is then allowed once the ball has been secured cleanly to protect the ball and guarantee better presentation. If a player arrives and inadvertently goes to ground, he is not to be penalised.

"The criteria for deciding whether a player is `bridging' are straightforward: you are allowed to place your hands on players while leaning over, provided you can bring yourself into an upright position without using your hands. You must be seen to be able to support your body weight. If you push with your hands to get back to your feet then you will be penalised. In a fast-moving game this can be a difficult area to referee."

Lineout: "It's pretty standard. There is to be no gripping on body parts, that is to say the skin. You can grab the waistband of the shorts or even the legs of the shorts but you must not touch the skin. There is a directive to be particularly attentive to the hooker. He must stand at the middle of the two lines and we have been told to watch this carefully."

Scrums: "Again, there is a particular emphasis on getting the scrum-half to stand at the middle of the tunnel and put in straight, rather than standing in front or your own pack and putting it in straight. The other things to ensure is that there is no charging when the two front rows are set and that both back rows stay bound."

Continuity: "From our own perspective we will not be penalised by our assessors for playing the advantage if it transpires that it does not work. We will be, though, if we fail to allow the advantage. Advantage must be a clear territorial gain or a clear tactical advantage. It is not the referee's fault if a team has a two-man overlap 10 yards behind the gain line but fails to execute the move properly.

"There will be greater latitude given to the defending team. There is no reason why a well-marshalled defence cannot win a game for a team."

Timekeeping: "In the World Cup, like soccer, there will be a fourth official to look after the timekeeping. However, unlike soccer, even though the board might say five minutes you could end up playing eight or nine, depending on injury, substitution and also because a match cannot finish in the course of a penalty. If someone was to miss a kick at goal, the other team could keep the ball alive and that could last a couple of minutes."

Offside: "This is definitely the blight on the game. We have been told to clamp down on this especially. In that respect referees will receive a lot of assistance from touch judges. There will be greater interaction between the three officials. We have been described as the 21st team at the finals."