Rugby World Cup 2023: who is the referee, TMO and touch judges for Ireland vs Scotland

Ireland and Scotland are set to meet in a titanic clash under the lights in Paris as the Rugby World Cup group stages come to an end.

The dramatic match at the Stade de France will go a long way to decide which teams advance from Pool B to the knock-out stages. Reigning world champions South Africa will face an anxious wait to see if they have done enough to make it into the quarter-finals.

Scotland are in need of a win having lost to the Springboks on the opening weekend. An 80-point dismantling of Romania means they come into the winner-takes-all clash firing on all cylinders.

However Gregor Townsend's men will still need to score at least four tries and be victorious to advance to the knock-out stages after South Africa's bonus point win over Tonga in round four. Andy Farrell and his Irish side remain in the driving seat in Pool B having gone undefeated so far in the tournament.

Ireland's victory over the Springboks on Saturday, 23 September, means thet are left requiring just one point to advance to the quarter-finals. But the Irish will still want to finish the pool stage on a high and will be aiming for victory in Paris.

But who will be the match officials for the colossal game at Stade de France on Saturday, 7 October night? Here's all you need to know:

Who is the referee for Ireland vs Scotland?

The match official for the game at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday night will be Australian referee Nic Berry. He has previously refereed two matches during the pool stages and served as touch judge in three others.

He has so far refereed Japan vs Chile on the opening weekend and Argentina vs Samoa in the third round. Berry is a former professional rugby player, he took up refereeing after retiring from the game in 2013. He played for sides such as Queensland Reds, Racing Metro and London Wasps during his career. He retired following a series of concusions.

He is one of few former Super Rugby players to have also refereed a game in that same league. Berry was a referee for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 - as well as now in 2023.

Who is the TMO and touch judges?

Berry will be joined by his countryman Jordan Way and experienced English referee Wayne Barnes as his touch judges/ assistant referees on Saturday. Barnes will have a busy weekend as he is scheduled to take charge of New Zealand vs Uruguay in round five as well - it will be his fourth game as referee in the pool stages.

The TMO helping Berry for the Ireland vs Scotland game will be Australian official Brett Cronan. He has been in the hot seat for all of the pool stage rounds - including South African vs Tonga, also in Pool B last weekend.

How to watch Ireland vs Scotland?

STV will have live coverage of the match in Scotland - while ITV will carry the match in the rest of the UK. ITV/ STV have exclusive broadcast rights for the tournament in the UK and will be showing every game live.

The match will be on STV and ITV1 on Saturday - coverage is scheduled to begin at 7.15pm ahead of kick-off at 8pm. The tournament matches have also been streamed on ITVX.

In Ireland, RTE and Virgin Media agreed a deal for all matches to be free-to-air and the dramatic Pool B clash in Paris will be broadcast on VMTV on Saturday. The other two games on 7 October will be on RTE earlier in the day.