'Le Crunch' will have a new man in charge due to Middle East conflict

With Nic Berry ruled out due to the ongoing travel disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East, Georgian Nika Amashukeli has been appointed as the referee for the final game of this year’s Six Nations between France and England at the Stade de France, on Saturday, March 14th.

Australian Berry had originally been chosen for what many thought would be the Six Nations title decider in Paris, which takes place the day after his 42nd birthday.

But the biggest Middle East carriers have ruled out resuming scheduled flights until at least Thursday, throwing travel plans into chaos.

Berry was also due to be an assistant referee for Italy’s game against England in Rome this Saturday and will now miss out on a second fixture after World Rugby confirmed the change today.

Ireland’s Andrew Brace will fill the assistant referee spot vacated by Amashukeli.

Tblisi-born Amashukeli has previous experience of refereeing ‘Le Crunch’, having been the man in the middle when England won 26-25 in round two of last year’s championship.

That is France’s only defeat with Amashukeli in the middle with Les Bleus holding a W3, L1 record after victories over Scotland, Fiji and New Zealand.

It will be the second time the Georgian official referees England in this championship, having overseen their 31-20 loss to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup match on Valentine’s Day.

England now have a W5, L2 record with Amashukeli as referee, their other loss coming against New Zealand in July 2024.

It will be his 34th Test overall and sixth in the Six Nations. He was the first Georgian to officiate in the competition when he took charge of Ireland vs Italy in Dublin in 2022.

Updated match official panel for France vs England, Saturday, 14 March:

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
AR1: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
AR2: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Conan (Australia)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)