Australian Rugby Test referee Peter Marshall will retire from International refereeing after Rugby World Cup 2003 in order to take up the position of Referees Manager at Australian Rugby.
Marshall, 48, will replace Russell Trotter who will depart Australian Rugby after 11 years of service as Referees Manager.
In April the International Rugby Board announced Marshall as part of a 26-man preliminary squad of officials for Rugby World Cup 2003 of which 24 will be selected. Out of the 24 selected, 16 will be referees and eight as touch judges or television match officials.
"If I get chosen to officiate at the World Cup then I'll start my new role after the tournament otherwise I'll finish refereeing after the conclusion of the Tooheys New Cup," Marshall told the ARU's official website.
A former first grade player with Manly Rugby Union Club, Marshall first refereed a match in 1986 and made his Test refereeing debut at Fiji v Tonga in 1993. He has gone on to referee 30 Tests. He refereed three matches at the 1999 Rugby World Cup including the third/fourth playoff between South Africa and New Zealand.
Marshall was in contention for the 1999 World Cup Final but with Australia involved in the match he was ruled ineligible.
"Although it would have been a huge honour to referee a World Cup final I'm a proud Australian and I enjoyed sitting in the crowd as the Wallabies won the final," said Marshall.
"Rugby and refereeing has given me the fantastic opportunity to see the world and I'll always remember the times I spent in Fiji, Tonga, London, Hong Kong and other great places," added Marshall.
"I really enjoyed taking control of Tri Nations matches and Six Nations matches. It was a privilege to be in stadiums like Twickenham and Cardiff Arms Park and to visit cities such as Dunedin where the whole town just creates a wonderful atmosphere in the leadup to Test matches.
"I feel that John Eales was the ultimate captain and it was also great to deal with former All Black Sean Fitzpatrick who was a great person and real professional."
Australian Rugby's General Manager of High Performance Brett Robinson said Marshall's 17 years of experience as a referee at all levels will prove invaluable.
"Peter has been one of the leading referees in world Rugby over a number of years and he will bring a great deal of knowledge to the role," said Robinson.
"We had numerous quality candidates for the position and it is an exciting opportunity for Peter to continue to enhance our reputation as one of the leading referee departments in the world.
"We look forward to welcoming Peter on board and wish him the best of luck if he is selected to participate at the Rugby World Cup."