Refs for Six Nations openers, including England vs Scotland referee
Rugby NewsThursday, 02 February 2023 at 11:53
Referee appointments for round one of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations, including the England vs Scotland referee at Twickenham.
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Wales vs Ireland referee (Principality Stadium, Cardiff; Saturday 4 February – 2.15pm)
- Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
- Assistant Referee 1: Angus Gardner (RA)
- Assistant Referee 2: Luke Pearce (RFU)
- TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
Dickson will be heading to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 4th February to officiate the first game of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations when Wales takes on Ireland.
Along with our partners at ACME whistles, we caught up with Karl to find out a little more about his journey to the Six Nations, and how being a player has helped him in his officiating career.
“I have only refereed one Six Nations game previously which was Scotland v France last year so it’s a massive privilege to be able to referee the first game of the Six Nations and launch the tournament,” he said.
“I have only refereed one Six Nations game previously which was Scotland v France last year so it’s a massive privilege to be able to referee the first game of the Six Nations and launch the tournament,” he said.
“When I became a referee, the goal was to referee a World Cup but within that goal was to referee tier one games at the big tournaments.
“The Six Nations is up there as one of the best tournaments in the world so to be part of it in general is a massive privilege.
“For me personally coming from playing then getting into refereeing a lot later than everyone else probably makes it a little bit more special because I've only been refereeing top level games for around six years.”
When asked if he feels there are going to be more eyes on this as the opening game of the tournament, Karl said: “I don't think so. I imagine it would be the same as any Six Nations tournament or game because you have England playing Scotland the same day.
“I don't think you can ever get bored of watching these six teams play each other because it's such a special occasion with sell-out crowds across the whole tournament. I think each game from the opener to the final one will be really special.”
When talking about the difference between the Six Nations and premiership games Karl went on to say: “When we prepare for premiership games most of the time we’ve seen the guys a lot across the year and then European games again we still might see them.
“But when you go to the international level you might not have seen some of the players for quite a while.
“I refereed Ireland in July but the last time I refereed Wales was probably two years ago, so I’ve got to do a little bit more preparation in and around what to expect.
“We have a fabulous analyst called Kate Burke who puts a presentation together for us around lineouts, scrums, kick offs to help prepare the team of officials.”
England vs Scotland referee (Twickenham Stadium, London; Saturday 4 February – 4.45pm)
- Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
- Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
- Assistant Referee 2: James Doleman (NZR)
- TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
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Williams returns to the Six Nations after a three-year absence, last refereeing a championship match in 2020 when France lost to Scotland at Murrayfield.
In that match, Williams dismissed French tighthead Mohamed Haouas for punching Scottish flanker Jamie Ritchie, effectively ending France's championship and Grand Slam aspirations.
Steve Borthwick's team is familiar with Williams as he refereed England's series decider over Australia in July, which ended in a 21-17 victory for England under former head coach Eddie Jones.
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Italy vs France referee (Stadio Olimpico, Rome; Saturday 5 February – 3pm)
- Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
- Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA)
- Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (RA)
- TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Carley is one of England’s leading rugby officials and was the first person to be offered a RFU refereeing scholarship at the University of Gloucestershire, which ran alongside his sports science degree, and the first ever referee in the world to officiate a professional game wearing “RefCam”.
Now with over 100 premiership games under his belt and a regular on the international rugby scene, he is part of the elite group of English referees employed by the RFU.
Referee Matthew Carley during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Match between Sale Sharks and Bath Rugby on the fourth weekend of the Return to Rugby campaign as rugby continues after COVID 19 lockdown at AJ Bell Stadium on 13 Sep. Photo: Steve Bond/PPAUK/Gallagher
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