The referee taking charge of Saturday's All Blacks clash with Australia was once sent vile death threats following a controversial England match at Twickenham.
Andrew Brace will be the man in the middle when New Zealand face the Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday, 10 October.
The Irish official is no stranger to the big occasion, but one match in 2020 saw him become the target of sickening online abuse.
Andrew Brace targeted after England win
It all started when England beat France 22-19 in the Autumn Nations Cup final at Twickenham.
Owen Farrell kicked the winning penalty in extra time, but the match was overshadowed by several controversial refereeing decisions.
French fans were particularly unhappy with an apparent Billy Vunipola knock-on in the build-up to Luke Cowan-Dickie's late try.
Brace soon found himself at the centre of a social media storm.
The referee received more than 1,000 Instagram messages, including death threats.
Some trolls even targeted a post about his late father, Gary.
Speaking to RugbyPass, Brace recalled the horrific messages.
"As well as the death threats, I had people telling me never to come back to France again."
His sister was also subjected to threatening messages.
What should have been another major appointment had turned into a nightmare.
Referee stood down after threats
Things became so serious that European rugby chiefs stepped in.
Brace had been scheduled to referee Toulouse against Exeter Chiefs in the Champions Cup just days later.
However, concerns over his welfare saw him taken off the fixture.
He was instead reassigned to Wasps against Montpellier, with Scotland's Mike Adamson taking charge in France.
Brace refused to let the experience end his career and has continued to referee at the highest level.
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Six years on, Brace is preparing for another huge international occasion.
The All Blacks welcome their old rivals Australia to Eden Park for the latest chapter of the Bledisloe Cup rivalry.
The match will also see England's Luke Pearce involved as one of the assistant referees.
The full officiating team is:
- Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
- Assistant referee 1: Luke Pearce (England)
- Assistant referee 2: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
- TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
- FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:10pm in Auckland, which is 7:10am UK time.
Pearce will then take charge of the return meeting between the two sides in Sydney on 17 October.
You can follow the latest All Blacks news and Australia rugby updates throughout the international window.
