History beckons as Hollie is set to become first women to ref at Six Nations
NEWS: World Rugby Match Officials have been confirmed for the Men’s Six Nations 2026.
Fourteen referees from eight nations, with a combined 487 tests, will take charge of the 15 matches that comprise the championship, which kicks off on February 5.
World Rugby Referee Award 2025 recipient Hollie Davidson will create another piece of history as the first female to referee a Men’s Six Nations match with Ireland v Italy on February 14.
Karl Dickson (England) will referee two matches in the tournament.
#NEWS: The officials for this weekend’s URC clashes https://t.co/STVFUnaUAC
— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) December 18, 2025
Dickson will take charge of the opening match between France and Ireland at the Stade de France, with Nic Berry (Australia) bringing the curtain down at the same venue when England visit on March 14.
Matthew Carley (England) will take charge of his 50th test match with Wales v Scotland in Cardiff on February 21, becoming the 17th official in history to reach the milestone.
Carley will become the fourth official on the current panel to referee 50 tests after Luke Pearce (England), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) and Angus Gardner (Australia).
Katsuki Furuse (Japan) will make his Men’s Six Nations debut as an assistant referee, as will Olly Hodges (Ireland) 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 will 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.”
Appointments have also been made for the U20 Men’s Six Nations 2026 with 11 referees on World Rugby’s Talent ID pathway to take charge of the matches between February 6 and March 15, nine of whom will make their debuts in the middle of the competition.
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 February 21, leading a first-ever team of four Georgian officials selected by World Rugby, with Saba Abulashvili and Mariam Goguadze as assistant referees and Soso Japaridze as TMO.
Thursday, February 5, 2026
France v Ireland
(Stade de France, Paris)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia) & Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Italy v Scotland
(Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: James Doleman (New Zealand) & Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
England v Wales
(Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia) & Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
Saturday, 14 February, 2026
Ireland v Italy
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) & Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Scotland v England
(Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Afrca)
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Wales v France
(Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England) & Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
Saturday, February 21, 2026
England v Ireland
(Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Brousset (France) & Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Wales v Scotland
(Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England) & Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Sunday, February 22, 2026
France v Italy
(Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England) & Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Irlenad)
Friday, March 6, 2026
Ireland v Wales
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Damian Schneider (Uruguay)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Scotland v France
(Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland) & Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
Italy v England
(Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia) & Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Saturday, March 14, 2026
Ireland v Scotland
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia) & Damian Schneider (Uruguay)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
Wales v Italy
(Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (France)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England) & Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
France v England
(Stade de France, Paris)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
