Six Nations: who is the referee, TMO and touch judges for Ireland vs Italy and how to watch

Ireland and Italy are preparing to round off this weekend's Six Nations action as the two sides meet at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

Last year's Grand Slam winners started their campaign with a stunning 38-17 in France in the opening game of the tournament to boost their hopes of back-to-back Six Nations and Grand Slam titles. Italy ran England close in Rome, as they were beaten 27-24 by Steve Borthwick's side.

Ireland are the strong favourites to win the contest in Dublin but Italy have shown improvement in the last few years and may provide a tougher test for Andy Farrell's men compared to recent Six Nations encounters between the two.

The opening round of the 2024 Six Nations proved to be an exciting one as Ireland shocked France before England and Scotland won tight contests against Italy and Wales, respectively. Ireland's meeting with the Italians is one of three home matches they will have in this year's edition of the tournament, with Scotland and Wales also set to visit Dublin.

Who is the referee for Ireland vs Italy?

The match official for the game at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon will be Welshman Luke Pearce. The game will be his first piece of officiating at this year's Six Nations. He refereed at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and regularly officiates matches in the English Premiership.

The 36-year-old was born in Wales but grew up in Exeter and joined the Devon Referee Society at the age of just 16. He has been a Test match referee since 2013, having first joined the RFU Premiership officiating team in 2011.

Who is the TMO and touch judges?

Mathieu Raynal and Luc Ramos, who both hail from France, will be the touch judges for the contest in Dublin. Another Frenchman, Eric Gauzins, will be the TMO. Gauzins was the Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) for England's win in Italy last weekend. The FRPO's 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 Ireland vs Italy?

ITV will have coverage of Ireland's clash with Italy, which kicks off at 3pm at the Aviva Stadium. Coverage of the contest will begin at 2.15pm, 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 5.30pm.

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. In Ireland, Virgin Media will show the game free-to-air.