Who is the referee for England vs France in Six Nations? Meet the man with the whistle at Twickenham Stadium

Steve Borthwick and his men are preparing to face their first Le Crunch of his England reign.

France travel to Twickenham Stadium on the back of a win over Scotland in Paris, a game which saw two red cards show in the first half. Both teams are hoping to keep their chances of winning the Six Nations alive.

Ireland remain in the driving seat in the championship, having won all three games so far and are the only side still able to win the coverted Grand Slam. France were victorious in Le Crunch last year after defeating England in Paris.

Steve Borthwick has made a big call dropping his captain Owen Farrell for Harlequins magic man Marcus Smith. France have not won at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2005 when their star scrum-half Antoine Dupont was just eight years old.

But who will be the man with the whistle, who is the TMO and who are the touch judges? Here is all you need to know:

Who is the referee at Twickenham?

New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe will be the man with the whistle in south-west London on Saturday (11 March) evening. He has been a professional referee since 2013, starting out in his native homeland.

O’Keeffe has refereed games in the Super Rugby, international tests, Rugby World Cup games and even a Lions test match in 2021. He famously had the whistle for England vs Wales in the 2020 Six Nations when he sent off Manu Tualangi, leading Eddie Jones to claim they were playing “16 against 13” -he was repremanded by the Rugby Football Union and made to apologise to O’Keeffe.

He was one of the assistant referees in the World Cup final in 2019, which featured England against South Africa.

His assistant referees are Jaco Peyper (South Africa) and Italy’s Andrea Piardi. Peyper will be the man with the whistle for England’s final game of the tournament against Ireland next weekend.

Who is the TMO?

The Television Match Official at Twickenham Stadium will be Australian referee Brett Cronan.