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Six Nations referee appointments see Barnes edge towards a century

By Paul Smith

17 Jan 2022

Wayne Barnes

Wayne Barnes edges a step closer to his 100th international refereeing appearance when he takes charge of Ireland’s clash with Scotland during the final round of 2022 Six Nations action.

The veteran English whistler’s 98th cap is his only appearance in a competition which sees Jaco Peyper take charge of the opening and closing games.

The experienced South African official gets the competition underway when Ireland host Scotland in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday February 5.

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And he is also the man in the middle at the Stade de France seven weeks later when pre-tournament favourites France face England on the final clash of Super Saturday.

The referee appointments to the competition’s early stages have a strongly Southern Hemisphere flavour with five of the first six matches being controlled by SANZAR based officials.

Remarkably, the entirety of the competition’s second round is being controlled by Australian referees with another familiar face – Angus Gardner – at the helm of the potentially pivotal clash between Ireland and France in Dublin.

Damon Murphy makes his Six Nations debut when England visit Rome, but on the day that Rassie Erasmus’ returns to work it is the appointment of Nic Berry – the subject of the Springboks coach’s lengthy video critique following the first Lions test – to Wales v Scotland that catches the eye.

Scotland’s Mike Adamson who takes charge of France v Italy is the sole Northern Hemisphere representative during the first two rounds of action and the former Scotland Sevens star is also handed a second opportunity to impress with the whistle when Wales visit Twickenham in round three.

Georgian official Nika Amashukeli’s strong displays during the Autumn Series are rewarded with a first Six Nations appointment when Ireland host Italy in round three while former Harlequins scrum half Karl Dickson takes charge of Scotland v France.

The closing two rounds of action will be whistled by five Northern Hemisphere officials prior to Peyper’s reappearance in Paris.

Round four sees English Premiership refereeing big guns Luke Pearce and Matthew Carley respectively take charge of Italy v Scotland and Wales v France while another potentially crucial encounter – England v Ireland – is entrusted to France’s Mathieu Raynal, who also refereed the third Lions test last summer.

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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 17, 2022

Commenting on the appointments, Chairman of the World Rugby Match Officials Selection Committee Graham Mourie said: “The 2022 Guinness Six Nations represents an important milestone for our match officials on the road to Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.

“Being able to select from the largest pool of match officials since the last Rugby World Cup is exciting and also means that we will be able to optimise preparation on the ground prior to and during the Championship.”

Round One:

Ireland v Wales, Aviva Stadium Dublin, Saturday 5 February
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Angus Gardner (RA)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

Scotland v England, BT Murrayfield Edinburgh, Saturday 5 February
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

France v Italy, Stade de France Paris, Sunday 6 February
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)

Round Two:

Wales v Scotland, Principality Stadium Cardiff, Saturday 12 February
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)

France v Ireland, Stade de France Paris, Saturday 12 February
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Italy v England, Stadio Olimpico Rome, Sunday 13 February
Referee: Damon Murphy (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 2: tbc
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Round Three:

Scotland v France
BT Murrayfield Edinburgh, Saturday 26 February
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)

England v Wales, Twickenham Stadium London, Saturday 26 February
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Ireland v Italy, Aviva Stadium Dublin, Sunday 27 February
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

Round Four:

Wales v France, Principality Stadium Cardiff, Friday 11 March
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)

Italy v Scotland, Stadio Olimpico Rome, Saturday 12 March
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium London, Saturday 12 March
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Round Five:

Wales v Italy, Principality Stadium Cardiff, Saturday 19 March
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)

Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium Dublin, Saturday 19 March
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

France v England, Stade de France Paris, Saturday 19 March
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

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Comments on RugbyPass

Over the sideline 9 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Well Razor will never build depth using Australians so that’s an uneducated comment.

229 Go to comments

JW 9 minutes ago

Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

Hopefully that leaves rugby in a good place then, as they don’t really get those at that age. It would be the opposite where its the mens game they occur I’d have thought (very old experience though!).

227 Go to comments

Over the sideline 10 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Very vague question. Who are the world class talent that Razor isn’t selecting?

229 Go to comments

JW 12 minutes ago

Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

Nice, that’s good to hear, I was worried for the tackler and it increasing concussions overall.

My question is still the same, and the important one though. Where the rate of concussions in Fed 2 high? Of course if there where only three concussions, and they were reduced now to one, then there is no need for the new laws etc.

There are two angles to this discussion, mine above about player welfare, and of course the that which you raise, legal responsibility. More, the legal responsibility we are concerned with is what’s happening now.

WR don’t really know much about CTE I wouldn’t think, whether it happens from innocuous things like heading a ball, or from small knocks or big knocks that don’t heal. Right now they are ensuring the backside is clean by implementing laws to rule out any possibility they didn’t do enough. So once they understand the problem more they may realise some things are overboard.

The other legal responsibility is the one you are talking about in France, the past. Did the LNR and WR know about the severity and frequency of CTE in rugby? That is the question in that debate. If they didn’t know then theres nothing they could have done, so there is no worry. Further, what we may have now is a situation where 90% of those court actions might not happen in future thanks to the new framework we already have around HIA and head contact processes. Your English example is only going to be an issue if future players still continue to receive CTE (as that is obviously bad), as it is now, the players have taken on their own responsibility by ignore advice. No doubt some countries, like France and New Zealand, will lower their tackle height, but as long as the union has done an adequate job in advising of the severity of the problem at least the legal shadow over the community game will have gone.

227 Go to comments

DC 14 minutes ago

Leicester Fainga'anuku denied All Blacks eligibility for TRC

well maybe nz rugby wants to change the rules look at jordie barrett whats the diffrence

30 Go to comments

Over the sideline 15 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Why would I bet on someone else’s choices? Happy to back my own choices but not betting on yours.

If you would like to READ again, I stated that Mounga was not on MY LIST. Razor and I don’t discuss selections and I’m not waiting for him to ask me.

229 Go to comments

Over the sideline 16 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Haha such ignorance. Rivez Rehana. I’m thinking the word “buffoon” is appropriate.

229 Go to comments

DC 17 minutes ago

Leicester Fainga'anuku denied All Blacks eligibility for TRC

it also happened with tj panera as well

30 Go to comments

SadersMan 18 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Boring mate. The arithmetic is simple. Eight years > one year & 3 tests. Give it time.

229 Go to comments

Over the sideline 20 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Wernt Ireland and France the top two contenders at the last WC? Being a top contender seems you get beaten at Quarter final time.

France are a hoke of world rugby. All the “depth” they constantly create by having all the B tours is failing them. Come WC time the 34 selected don’t know how to be a close touring group and play around 6-7 tests a year together. How’s there Depth worked for them?

Your don’t “Create” depth, you develop it. And you develop it from U7s not U20s or average club players.

229 Go to comments

SadersMan 25 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Well, off to a good start this year. And yes, a proper tour means the use of a “midweek” selection.

229 Go to comments

Hammer Head 44 minutes ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

Razor is the flaw in the ABs 4-4-4 RWC plan

229 Go to comments

BC 48 minutes ago

England announce squad for home Rugby World Cup

I think their biggest threat will come from Canada who are strong in the forwards and very slowly developing some fluidity in the backs. They should contest the final with the Red Roses who will make no mistake this time.

3 Go to comments

JW 53 minutes ago

Why New Zealand learned more from their July series than France

Thats the thing. I wasn’t thinking about Jalibert, I was thinking about Le Garrec. It’s irrelevant how he goes Dupont, the point is it enables the team to perform to a higher set of variables, and they for improve more. Le Garrec was made to look scrappy because he was trying to do the 10’s role. both in a creativity sense and in a French sense.

It is also a double effect, Segonds was good for a cameos, or 1 game, more he didn’t seem ready for and hindered his teams function and learning potential in game two. Perhaps it’s a mental barrier with Segunds, and he got a big head after game one or something, which at least now he can learn from (because he had that second chance to be bad), but overall I see so much more benefit in a player like Jalibert for such a key position (but yes I think generically, I don’t really know he is good in the areas of game management etc).

Ofc it is all hypothetical, I do not know any alternative example to Jalibert (though I did think of Jaminet still looking great against SA and maybe Segonds and Hastoy were supposed to be better even?) at 10, if he is injured, or what I more likely would have thought, blocked by his club (not even playing 6N), is a concept for any key position like hooker (where you lost a lot of good attacking ball) as well.

327 Go to comments

Hammer Head 1 hour ago

Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan

The kiwis headlines? No. I don’t read them.

Anyway. It’s been fun as always OTS. I’m over the “page missing” errror. even though I could argue with you all day - ya big dummy.

Have a nice day.

And good luck with that depth.

229 Go to comments

NB 1 hour ago

Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

And you have to be seen to be a part of the int’l community to succeed in comps run by that community…

227 Go to comments