"Controversial" - Every Nations Championship referee ranked and graded after Round One

With six matches taking place across the weekend, the officials had plenty to contend with, from frantic end-to-end contests to tight TMO calls and fierce battles at the breakdown.

Some referees emerged with their reputations enhanced, while others found themselves at the centre of post-match debate.

Here’s how we graded all six referees from the opening round of the Nations Championship.

Pearce made a strong and composed start to the match, making a decisive early call to yellow-card Ruben Love after just a couple of minutes, which proved correct.

He generally allowed play to flow well, intervening only when necessary, and kept control without any major controversy.

Although he was busy early on with several penalty decisions, none were contentious, and his communication was aided by his effective use of French. He also correctly ruled out a marginal France try for a slight knock-on.

There was so much attacking rugby for Ben O'Keeffe to keep up with as Ireland and Australia entertained the masses with a 10-try epic in Sydney. Allianz Stadium was lit up in gold and green, with O'Keeffe coming under some criticism for two Ireland try-scoring decisions.

The first instance saw Cian Prendergast wrestle his way over the whitewash after just 10 minutes to draw his side level following a hot Wallabies start. With some camera angles appearing to show the ball held up, O'Keeffe was confident in his on-field decision and awarded the try, much to the chagrin of the hosts.

Ireland then closed out the first half with a try from Jamison Gibson-Park, as the scrum-half raced free after collecting an offload from Jack Conan. However, several camera angles raised question marks over the assist, with the ball looking dubiously forward as the Leinster man played in his provincial teammate.

O'Keeffe did chalk off an Ireland try, as James Ryan was adjudged to have obstructed Rob Valetini from making a potentially try-saving tackle on captain Dan Sheehan. The TMO was called into play this time, with O'Keeffe happy to go to the off-field officials for the decision.

While O'Keeffe did well to keep the end-to-end, yo-yoing chaos under control for the most part, Wallabies fans would certainly feel hard done by over the two try-scoring decisions.

The TMO was correct to disallow Jamie George’s try after he was found to be offside, but Doleman’s performance was not without criticism.

Former England prop David Flatman questioned some of the officiating on commentary, particularly around the scrum, where several decisions appeared harsh.

A high penalty count also disrupted the flow of the game at times. While many of the individual calls could be justified, Doleman’s handling of the set-piece battle was certainly open to debate.

He kept a lid on proceedings overall, but it was far from a faultless performance.

Berry had the most difficult afternoon of the remaining three officials, with Italy left frustrated by a number of decisions and non-decisions during their 27-10 defeat in Tokyo.

Japan were deserved winners, but Berry came under criticism for some of his work around the breakdown, with Italy feeling they did not get the rub of the green.

There was no single match-defining howler, but it was a performance that attracted more debate than most across the opening weekend. Berry kept control of the contest, although Italy will feel several marginal calls went against them.

A very solid outing from Cross, who handled the unpredictable nature of Fiji’s attacking game well and allowed the contest to breathe.

Wales scored six tries in a convincing 36-21 victory, with Cross largely staying out of the spotlight. There were no major controversies or obvious errors, while he dealt well with the set-piece battle and Fiji’s attempts to play at pace.

For a match that could easily have become chaotic, Cross maintained control without becoming overly involved.

This was arguably the most chaotic game of the weekend, with 13 tries scored as Scotland claimed a remarkable 47-38 victory in Córdoba.

Amashukeli had plenty to deal with as both teams attacked relentlessly, but he generally allowed the game to flow and contributed to an entertaining spectacle.

With 85 points scored and the match regularly swinging from one end to the other, it was never going to be an easy contest to referee. There were a few debatable breakdown decisions, but no major controversy overshadowed the result.

Overall, Amashukeli did a good job of keeping control without taking centre stage.

Since rugby turned professional in 1995, England have had a host of captains lead the team through World Cups, Grand Slams, Lions tours and some of the biggest moments in the sport's history.

From World Cup-winning legends to short-term stand-ins, how many England captains of the professional era can you name?

You have five minutes to name them all. Good luck!?