Six Nations: who is the referee, TMO and touch judges for England vs Wales and how to watch
Fans will descend on Twickenham for the first England home game of the Six Nations on Saturday as Wales make the trip to London.
Steve Borthwick's side enter the contest after a narrow win over Italy in Rome, with England emerging as 27-24 victors to pick up four points. Ireland top the standings after the first round of games following their emphatic bonus point win in France. Meanwhile, Scotland sit a place behind England in third, following their 27-26 win over Wales in Cardiff.
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Hide AdEngland will be keen to build on their win over Italy while Wales will be out to bounce back from their opening-round defeat, which was Scotland's first win at the Principality Stadium for 22 years.
Who is the referee for England vs Wales?
James Doleman of New Zealand will take charge of the contest. He has already been involved in this year's Six Nations, having been a tough judge during Wales' dramatic defeat to Scotland last weekend in Cardiff.
Doleman became a professional referee in 2020, and officiates in Super Rugby, which is the elite men's club rugby competition for Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.
Who is the TMO and touch judges?
Ben O'Keeffe and Hollie Davidson will assist Doleman on the sidelines. It is Davidson's first Six Nations assignment this year while O'Keeffe has been involved already this tournament, having taken charge of Scotland 27-26 Wales in Cardiff last weekend.
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Hide AdDavidson, who hails from Scotland, will become the first female to run touch in a Men’s Six Nations match. She previously created history when she took charge of Portugal v Italy in Lisbon in June 2022, becoming the first female to referee a match involving a Six Nations team.
“I was a little overwhelmed to be honest, when I got the call it was amazing,” said Davidson of her call-up to be a touch judge at Twickenham.
“Even if you’re not an avid rugby follower everybody gets involved when the Six Nations is on, everyone watches it growing up and everyone gets excited, so to be on the line for one of these games I think is a dream come true.
“Our school used to put on bus trips down to Murrayfield and they were some of the best memories I had as a kid growing up, going to watch Scotland play. I just think now to be a part of this competition is amazing and I think for young boys and girls to see a female assistant referee on the line, it shows them that they can achieve anything they want and get involved in the future.”
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Hide AdBrendon Pickerill is the TMO. The Foul Play Review Officials for the upcoming Six Nations fixtures have yet to be announced. The FPRO is responsible for reviewing yellow card incidents while a player serves a 10-minute sin bin. If a player is shown a yellow card and the referee crosses his arms in an 'X' shape it means the FPRO will look at the incident and decide if the sin-bin offence warrants a red card. The FPRO has access to all footage and is given plenty of time to make a decision.
How to watch England vs Wales?
ITV will have coverage of England's all-British clash with Wales, which kicks off at 4.45pm at Twickenham. Coverage of the contest will begin at 4pm, allowing for pre-match build-up before players take to the field and sing the national anthems ahead of kick off. Post-match coverage will continue until 7.15pm.
The game is also available to stream on ITVX. The service is available for free although you will need to create an account in order to watch the game online. ITVX is available on mobile, tablet and a number of Smart TVs as well as services such as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV.
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