Rugby World Cup 2023: who is the referee, TMO and assistants for England vs Japan in Nice?

England's Rugby World Cup campaign got off to the best possible start with a win over Argentina.

Steve Borthwick's men recovered from the set back of Tom Curry's early red card and stormed to a 27-10 victory - led by an inspired performance from flyhalf George Ford and the steely defence. It puts them in a strong position to advance to the knock-out stages and started to clear the gloom which had clung over the team during the warm-up matches.

England will be back in action against 2019 hosts Japan in the closing game of the second weekend. They will be boosted by the return of Billy Vunipola - although Tom Curry is still awaiting to outcome of his discplinary hearing.

Japan overcame a tricky test in Chile - who were making their first ever World Cup appearance - and earned a bonus point in the process. England will prove to be a step-up for The Brave Blossoms but they shocked the rugby world by topping their group at the previous tournament.

But who will be the match officials for the Pool D fixture at Stade de Nice, Nice on Sunday, 17 September night. Here's all you need to know:

Who is the referee for England vs Japan?

Georgian match official Nika Amashukeli will take charge of the game in Nice on Sunday evening. It is his second match in the tournament - having had the whistle for Ireland vs Romania. He was also a touch judge for South Africa vs Scotland during the opening round.

First introduced to rugby by his father during the 2007 World Cup, Nika played the sport as a young boy and played at U17, U18 and U19 levels for his country.

After multiple injuries and concussions he retired from rugby aged 20 before starting training to become a referee in 2013. He took charge of his first test in 2015 in the Montenegro v Estonia European Nations Cup Third Division match.

He made his tier one test debut in 2021 during Wales' summer tour game against Canada. Nika has refereed two Six Nations games in 2022 and 2023.

Who are his assistants and the TMO?

His touch judges will be Australia's Nic Berry and Italy's Andrea Piardi for the match in Nice on Sunday evening. The TMO will be Ireland's Joy Neville - who made history on the first weekend as the first female TMO at the men's rugby world cup.

How to watch England vs Japan?

The game will be broadcast live on ITV in England (and STV in Scotland). The game kicks off at 8pm and will also be available to watch live on the streaming service ITVX.