Six Nations: Jaco Peyper gets France v England finale

Planet Rugby

South Africa’s Jaco Peyper has been appointed to referee the Six Nations finale between France and England in Paris on March 19.

The list of refereeing appointments for the Six Nations, released on Monday by World Rugby, features a diverse mix of 13 officials from eight unions, with only Peyper and Scotland’s Mike Adamson getting more than one game.

Debutants

Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli will make his Six Nations debut in the match between Ireland and Italy on February 27, with Australia’s Damon Murphy and England’s Karl Dickson also debuting during the tournament.

The roster also includes referees from the southern hemisphere, reflecting eased travel restrictions. Ben O’Keeffe, Angus Gardner and Nic Berry all take a game each, the former taking charge of Scotland v England on the opening weekend.

Wayne Barnes will take charge of his 98th Test when Ireland host Scotland, also on the final weekend.

There are also debuts for assistant referees Pierre Brousset, Tual Trainini (both France) and Chris Busby (Ireland), and TMO debuts for Stuart Terheege (England), Ben Whitehouse (Wales) and Brett Cronan (Australia).

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

“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. I would like to extend my congratulations to Nika, Damon and Karl, who will be refereeing their first Six Nations matches, and wish all the best to all the match officials selected for the Championship.”

Six Nations match officials:

Week 1:

Ireland v Wales
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Angus Gardner (RA)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

Scotland v England
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

France v Italy
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)

Week 2:

Wales v Scotland
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)

France v Ireland
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Italy v England
Referee: Damon Murphy (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Week 3:

Scotland v France
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)

England v Wales
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Ireland v Italy
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

Week 4:

Wales v France
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)

Italy v Scotland
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

England v Ireland
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Week 5:

Wales v Italy
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)

Ireland v Scotland
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (RFU)

France v England
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)