Scotland’s Hollie Davidson will referee her first Guinness Men’s Six Nations match as part of the full list of World Rugby’s Emirates Match Official appointments for the 2026 tournament. She will be in Dublin to oversee Ireland v Italy in round two. France’s Luc Ramos will also debut in round four after impressing in the Autumn Nations Series. In another notable milestone, Matthew Carley (Eng – top right) will reach 50 test appearances in the middle – joining his fellow M6N refs, Luke Pearce (England), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Angus Gardner (Australia) in that club. Carley will become the 17th official in history to reach the fifty mark.
Across the tournament, fourteen referees from eight nations with 487 tests between them, will take charge of the 15 matches. With Davidson and Ramos stepping up, someone else has to miss out, and New Zealand’s Paul Williams seems to be the missing name from the 2026 championship. Not sure there’s to much to be read into that. There’s still some space for two new-to-M6N faces Katsuki Furuse (Jpn – bottom left) will make his Men’s Six Nations debut as an assistant referee, with Olly Hodges (Ire –bottom right) debuting as a Television Match Official.
World Rugby High-Performance 15s Match Officials Manager Joël Jutge said, “As we look ahead to another busy and exciting year of international rugby, we remain focused on delivering high performance through consistency, clarity and accountability. Like any high-performance team, we are relentless in our pursuit of growth, with a strong ability to review, learn and move forward in collaboration with the game’s major stakeholders.
“The team is highly motivated to set the highest standards and we recognise the need to double-down on aiding game flow and ensuring consistency of decision-making when it comes to permanent red cards and 20-minute red cards. This means, any foul play meeting the yellow card threshold should go to the bunker for review, while the permanent red card remains for acts of intentional foul play. With that in mind, we are fully committed to strengthening alignment and shared understanding with coaches, broadcasters and fans ahead of the Six Nations.” That seems to reflect on a tricky Autumn Nations series with on-field and judicial decisions attracting some flack from rugby’s many stakeholders.
2026 u20s Six Nations MOs confirmed
As well as the men’s tournament, the appointments have also been announced for the U20 Men’s Six Nations 2026 with 11 referees on World Rugby’s Talent ID pathway taking charge this year. There are nine debuts in the middle this year.
Kevin Bralley (France) will referee the opening match between Italy and Scotland in Treviso and is one of four officials to take charge of two matches, the others being Luke Rogan (USA), Reuben Keane (Australia) and Gonzalo de Achaval (Argentina).
Saba Makharadze (Georgia) will referee France v Italy in Villeneuve d’Ascq on 21 February, leading a first-ever team of four Georgian officials selected by World Rugby. Saba Abulashvili and Mariam Goguadze will be his assistant referees. Soso Japaridze will be the TMO.
The group will also be looking to make their mark ahead of the World u20 Championships which takes place in July 2026. This week, World Rugby announced that a lower sternum tackle height will be used in that competition – the first time it will be used in the elite end of the game.
Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2026 referee, AR, TMO and FPRO appointments
Round 1: 5-7 Feb
France v Ireland
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
ARs: Angus Gardner (Aus) & Jordan Way (Aus)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZ)
Italy v Scotland
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
ARs: James Doleman (NZ) & Katsuki Furuse (Jpn)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZ)
FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)
England v Wales
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
ARs: Nic Berry (Aus) & Morné Ferreira (SA)
TMO: Tual Trainini (Fra)
FPRO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
Round 2: 14-16 February
Ireland v Italy
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
ARs: Matthew Carley (Eng) & Luc Ramos (Fra)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
FPRO: Tual Trainin (Fra)
Scotland v England
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
ARs: Andrea Piardi (Ita) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Wales v France
Referee: James Doleman (NZ)
ARs: Christophe Ridley (Eng) & Sam Grove-White (Sco)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZ)
FPRO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Round 3: 21-22 February
England v Ireland
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
ARs: Pierre Brousset (Fra) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
FPRO: Mike Adamson
Wales v Scotland
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
ARs: Karl Dickson (Eng) & Adam Leal (Eng)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
France v Italy (in Lille)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ire)
ARs: Luke Pearce (Eng) & Eoghan Cross (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
FPRO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Round 4: 6-7 March
Ireland v Wales
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
ARs: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) & Damian Schneider (Arg)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Scotland v France
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
ARs: Andrew Brace (Ire) & Craig Evans (Wal)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
FPRO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
Italy v England
Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
ARs: Nic Berry (Aus) & Pierre Brousset (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
FPRO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Round 5: 14-15 March
Ireland v Scotland
Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)
ARs: Angus Gardner (Aus) & Damian Schneider (Arg)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)
FPRO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
Wales v Italy
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Fra)
ARs: Matthew Carley (Eng) & Eoghan Cross (Ire)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
France v England
Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)
ARs: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) & Hollie Davidson (Sco)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
u20s Six Nations
Round1: 6-7 February
Italy v Scotland (Treviso)
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
ARs: Evan Urruzmendi (Fra) & Thibault Santamaria (Fra)
TMO: Julien Castaignede (Fra)
England v Wales (Northampton)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
ARs: Lex Weiner (USA) & Robin Kaluzniak (Can)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
France v Ireland (Perpignan)
Referee: Christopher Allison (SA)
ARs: Alberto Favaro (Ita) & Clara Munarini (Ita)
TMO: Giuseppe Vivarini (Ita)
Round 2: 13-14 February
Scotland v England (Hive Stadium, Edinburgh)
Referee: Ben Connor (Wal)
ARs: Carwyn Sion (Wal) & Lucas Yendle (Wal)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
Ireland v Italy (Cork)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
ARs: Lex Weiner (USA) & Robin Kaluzniak (Can)
TMO: Dan Jones (Eng)
Wales v France (Cardiff)
Referee: Ru Cambell (Sco)
ARs: Rob McDowell (Sco) & Jonny MacKenzie (Sco)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Round 3: 20-21 February
Wales v Scotland (Cardiff)
Referee: George Selwood (Eng)
ARs: Jamie Parr (Eng) & Henry Pearson (Eng)
TMO: Dan Jones (Eng)
England v Ireland (Bath)
Referee: Morgan White (HKC)
ARs: Carwyn Sion (Wal) & Lucas Yendle (Wal)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
France v Italy (Lille)
Referee: Saba Makharadze (Geo)
ARs: Saba Abulashvili (Geo) & Mariam Goguadze (Geo)
TMO: Soso Japaridze (Geo)
Round 4: 6-7 March 2026
Scotland v France (Hive Stadium, Edinburgh)
Referee: Reuben Keane (Aus)
ARs: Robbie Jenkinson (Ire) & Jack MacNeice (Ire)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ire)
Italy v England (Treviso)
Referee: Gonzalo DeAchaval (Arg)
ARs: Ru Cambell (Sco) & Jonny MacKenzie (Sco)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (Por)
Ireland v Wales (Cork)
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
ARs: David Vosalevu (Fij) & Evan Urruzmendi (Fra)
TMO: Julien Castaignede(Fra)
Round 5: 15-17 March
Wales v Italy (Newport)
Referee: Gonzalo DeAchaval (Arg)
ARs: Jamie Parr (Eng) & Henry Pearson (Eng)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (Por)
Ireland v Scotland (Cork)
Referee: David Vosalevu (Fij)
ARs: Alberto Favaro (Ita) & Franco Rosella (Ita)
TMO: Giuseppe Vivarini (Ita)
France v England (La Rochelle)
Referee: Reuben Keane (Aus)
ARs: Robbie Jenkinson (Ire) & Jack MacNeice (Ire)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ire)
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