World Rugby unveiled, this Wednesday, the list of referees for the next Six Nations Tournament, which will begin on Friday February 2 with a summit clash between France and Ireland at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. An opening match which will be refereed by the Englishman Karl Dickson. Two of his compatriots will officiate other Blues matches this year, since Christophe Ridley will be on the whistle for the match against Italy in Lille and Luke Pearce will lead the match against Wales in Cardiff. Furthermore, two Australians will host the other matches of Fabien Galthié’s players: Nic Berry for France-Scotland at Murrayfield and Angus Gardner for the “Crunch” against England, at the end of the Tournament, in Lyon.
Note that two French referees will make their debut in the Six Nations: Pierre Brousset will be the main referee for Ireland-Italy, on Saturday February 11, with Luc Ramos as assistant. Andrea Piardi will become the first Italian to officiate in the ancestral competition, during Ireland-Wales (February 24). Scotland’s Hollie Davidson will be the first woman to take on the role of assistant referee in the men’s tournament, during the England-Wales match (February 10).
Also read: XV of France: what is the Blues’ full program for 2024?
“The 2024 Six Nations Tournament marks the start of a new Rugby World Cup cycle and we look forward to working with the selected group. Congratulations to the beginners,” greets Frenchman Joël Jutge, head of referees at World Rugby. In the end, fifteen referees representing eight nations will be on the whistle for the 15 matches of this 2024 edition. The South African Jaco Peyper, well known to the French, is the most experienced referee with 67 test matches under his belt, including 12 matches of the Tournament. Englishman Luke Pearce will officiate his 50th international match during Wales-France, becoming the 11th referee to reach this milestone and the third Englishman after Wayne Barnes and Chris White.
France – Ireland (Marseille, Friday February 2) Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng) Linesman 1: Matthew Carley (Eng) Linesman 2: Jordan Way (Aus) TMO: Ben Whitehouse (PdG) Scotland – France (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Scotland-France (Edinburgh, Saturday 10 February) Referee: Nic Berry (Aus) Linesman 1: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) Linesman 2: Jordan Way (Aus) TMO: Brian MacNeice (Irl)
France-Italy (Lille, Sunday February 25)Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng) Linesman 1: Matthew Carley (Eng) Linesman 2: Craig Evans (PdG) TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng) Wales-France (Cardiff, Sunday March 10) Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng) Linesman 1: Andrew Brace (Irl) Linesman 2: Damian Schneider (Arg) TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
France-England (Lyon, Saturday March 16)Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus) Linesman 1: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) Linesman 2: Damian Schneider (Arg) TMO: Ben Whitehouse (PdG)
The complete list of referees for the 2024 Tournament can be found HERE.