World Rugby has announced changes to the official match for the upcoming Six Nations match between Ireland and Italy.
French player Pierre Bourset was due to officiate Sunday’s match at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
luke pierce milestones
World Rugby announced that Brussett suffered a calf injury and that Luke Pearce would replace him in charge of his 50th Test match.
The rest of the match official team remains as announced, with Pearce supported by Frenchmen Mathieu Raynal and Luc Ramos, as well as TMO Eric Gauzan.
Pearce becomes the third English official to reach the 50 Test milestone, following Chris White and Wayne Barnes.
He made his international debut as a referee in 2013, officiating the match between Romania and Russia.
Since then, he has refereed two Rugby World Cups (2019 and 2023), with 2024 marking his sixth Six Nations campaign.
Ireland is not crazy
Ireland head into their next match having beaten France 38-17 in Marseille in their opening game of the championship.
Many expected the opening game of the tournament to be the title decider, but Ireland head coach Andy Farrell did not allow his team to get ahead of themselves.
“We want to be in (the title race) in the final week, but inside we’re hungry to do as well as we can,” he said.
“The reality is this is one win, one win, one loss and we have to move on to the next win.
“It (the championship) is not about winning or losing, it’s about building on this.
“When we win we tend to be pretty tough on our performance because we did it and we got some good points, so I hope that’s a springboard for us to get better. ”
“But the feel-good factor of a win like that…it’s a special win, definitely, and it’s there to be celebrated, that’s for sure.”
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Six Nations second round fixtures and referees
scotland v france
date: Saturday, February 10th
venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
kick off: 14:15 GMT
Referee: Nick Berry (RA)
Assistant referee: Nika Amashkeli (GRU), Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brian McNeice (IRFU)
England vs Wales
date: Saturday, February 10th
venue: twickenham, london
kick off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Holly Davidson (SRU)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
Ireland v Italy
date: February 11th (Sun)
venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
kick off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant referee: Mathieu Reynal (FFR), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gozan (FFR)