Who is the referee for Italy vs Wales in Six Nations? Meet man with whistle at Stadio Olympico in Rome

The battle for the wooden spoon will take place at the Stadio Olympico in Rome.

Wales travel to the Italian capital looking for their first win of the Six Nations championship this year. The Welsh side are looking to avenge their defeat to Italy last year, which left them bottom of the table.

The team who finish the Six Nations with the lowest number of points will win the “wooden spoon” at the end of the tournament. The result at the Stadio Olympico will likely decide who will finish at the bottom of the table.

Italy currently are fifth ahead of Wales due to picking up one bonus point so far during the competition. Warren Gatland’s side are currently on zero points.

ITV will have coverage of the game at the Stadio Olympico this afternoon. Here is all you need to know:

Who is the referee for Italy vs Wales?

Australian Damon Murphy will be the man with the whistle on Saturday (11 March) afternoon in Rome. The 38-year-old is a former professional player.

Murphy was the captain of Australia’s sevens team and his nickname was “lazer”. His position was on the wing.

Following his retirement, Murphy turned to refeering and has seen a rapid rise up the ranks. He made his debut in 2016 and started out refereeing on the World Sevens circuit.

Murphy has refereed in the Six Nations before, he had the whistle for England vs Italy in the championship last year.

His assistant referees will be Englishman Karl Dickinson, who has refereed in the Premiership, and Ireland’s Chris Busby.

Who will be the TMO?

Joy Neville will be in the booth as the television match official for Wales’ trip to Rome to face Italy. She is a former Ireland international turned referee and has taken charge of such games as the 2017 women’s world cup final. She has worked as a TMO in the men’s game since 2020 and was the TMO for three games in the 2021 Six Nations tournament.