World Rugby confirms change to Six Nations final round due to conflict in Middle East

Wednesday, 04 March 2026 at 14:30

byCharlie Elliott

Another officiating change has been confirmed for the Six Nations as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

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Australia’s Nic Berry will no longer travel to Paris to officiate France versus England next week. Instead, Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli will take charge of the match, with Ireland’s Andrew Brace stepping in as assistant referee.

The decision follows significant disruption to flights passing through Middle Eastern airspace, a route Berry would have needed to take from Australia to reach France.

With flights currently cancelled until at least Thursday, and further extensions expected, World Rugby opted to revise the appointments.

Berry had also been scheduled to serve as assistant referee for Italy’s clash with England in Rome this Saturday. Following today’s confirmation from World Rugby, he will now miss both fixtures.

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As a result of the travel disruption in the Middle East, there will be a change to the @Emirates World Rugby Match Officials for the France v England match (@SixNationsRugby) on 14 March. Nic Berry (Australia) will not be travelling and Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) moves to

12:37 PM · Mar 4, 2026

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Brace fills the assistant referee role vacated by Amashukeli.

Tbilisi-born Amashukeli has prior experience officiating “Le Crunch.” He refereed last year’s round-two encounter, where England edged France 26–25.

That remains France’s only defeat in matches overseen by the Georgian official, with Les Bleus holding a record of three wins and one loss under his charge, including victories over Scotland, Fiji, and New Zealand.

This will be the second time Amashukeli referees England in this year’s championship, having previously overseen their 31–20 Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland on Valentine’s Day.