by England head coach Steve Borthwick has spoken about the differences between how Premiership referees and those at Test level manage rucks and scrums ahead of England’s upcoming Six Nations campaign.
“The nature of the breakdown is referred to differently in international rugby and the nature of the scrum is referred to differently in international rugby,” said Borthwick. “It’s important that teams have the opportunity to cut kicks [but] we are looking at too many scrums without going to the competition. I like the scrum competition and I don’t want that to leave our game.
“Sometimes what we’re doing is giving that contest away a little bit trying to get the ball in and out and if it doesn’t stay up then we’re playing away and we don’t have another scrum. We know that’s not how test rugby is. Test rugby, the scrum is a competition, as we found out – as we improved – to our cost in the World Cup semi-final.
“The breakdown is also a huge competition. English referees; the way they solve the Premiership, the pace of the ball is high and they want to get the ball out of that break. The area around the ball is clean in the Premier League because if it is not, it is penalised.
“At Test rugby, that’s different. In Test rugby, that area is not as clean as that and the back row will be one of the biggest notes I review every session, every game, every competition. When it comes to the breakdown, everyone has a responsibility but having each other’s back is key,” he said.
Who are the referees in the 2024 Six Nations?
Karl Dickson will referee next year’s Six Nations opener between France and Ireland in Marseille, one of four English officials given the whistle for men’s championship matches.
Dickson will be joined by Matthew Carley, Luke Pearce and debutant Christophe Ridley to referee men’s matches in the Six Nations next year, with the quartet of English officials making up the largest contingent from one nation.
The news comes as England match officials sacked Wayne Barnes and Tom Foley, both of whom were involved in the World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand and received death threats afterwards that.
Ridley – who will lead France’s hosting of Italy in Lille – will be joined by France’s Pierre Brousset and Andrea Piardi to start the championships, with the latter becoming the first Italian official to referee the Men’s game Six Nations when he oversees Ireland against Great Britain in Dublin.
Premiership referee Adam Leal will also make his men’s debut in the Six Nations as an assistant referee, with Ian Tempest filling the gap left by Foley’s absence as a TV match official.
New Zealand’s Paul Williams will referee England’s final against the Azzurri; compatriot James Doleman will lead the match against Great Britain; Andrew Brace will oversee the Calcutta Cup; Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli will give the whistle to host Ireland at Twickenham before Australian Angus Gardner closes the contest in Le Crunch.
Ben O’Keeffe, a fellow countryman of Williams and Doleman, will manage Scotland’s trip to Cardiff and has a bye with France. France captain Antoine Dupont said the Kiwi was “not up to the challenge” of leading after France’s World Cup quarter-final win over the Springboks.
When Pearce officiates Wales against France at the Principality Stadium, he will also become the third Englishman after Wayne Barnes and Chris White to referee 50 Tests.
2024 Six Nations Appointment
Round one
Friday, February 2: France v Ireland
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Referee: Karl Dickson (Irish)
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Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (England)
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Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (Aus)
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TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Saturday, February 3: Italy v England
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Referee: Paul Williams (NZ)
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Assistant Referee 1: Nick Berry (Aus)
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Assistant Referee 2: Pierre Brousset (France)
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TMO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
Saturday, February 3: Wales v Scotland
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Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
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Assistant Referee 1: James Doleman (NZ)
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Assistant Referee 2: Angus Mabey (NZ)
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TMO: Brendan Pickerill (NZ)
Round two
Saturday, February 10: Scotland v France
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Referee: Nick Berry (Aus)
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Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
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Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (Aus)
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TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Saturday, February 10: England v Wales
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Referee: James Doleman (NZ)
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Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
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Assistant Referee 2: Hollie Davidson (School)
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TMO: Brendan Pickerill (NZ)
Sunday, February 11: Ireland v Italy
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Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
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Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal (France)
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Assistant Referee 2: Luc Ramos (France)
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TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Round three
Saturday, February 24: Ireland v Wales
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Referee: Andrea Piardi (Iita)
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Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (Irish)
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Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
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TMO: Eric Gauzins (Iita)
Saturday, February 24: Scotland v England
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Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
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Assistant Referee 1: Chris Busby (Ireland)
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Assistant Referee 2: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
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TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)
Sunday, February 25: France v Italy
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Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
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Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (Irish)
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Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (Wal)
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TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Round four
Saturday, March 9: Italy v Scotland
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Referee: Jaco Peyper (USA)
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Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (England)
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Assistant Referee 2: Adam Leal
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TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)
Saturday, March 9: England v Ireland
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Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
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Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Piardi (France)
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Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (Wal)
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TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Sunday, March 10:Wales v France
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Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
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Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
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Assistant Referee 2: Damian Schneider (Arg)
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TMO: Ian Tempest (T)
Round five
Saturday, March 16th: Wales v Italy
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Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
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Assistant Referee 1: Chris Busby (IRFU)
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Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (SARU) T
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TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)
Saturday, March 16th: Ireland v Scotland
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Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
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Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
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Assistant Referee 2: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
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TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Saturday, March 16th: France v England
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Referee: Angus Gardner (UK)
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Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
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Assistant Referee 2: Damian Schneider (UAR)
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TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
