England begin their 2024 Six Nations campaign on Saturday when they face Italy in Rome.
Steve Borthwick’s side will be hoping to build on their third-place finish at the World Cup, but will do so without former captain Owen Farrell. Farrell will step away from Test rugby for the time being to focus on his and his family’s health. The Italian team will be without star winger Ange Capozzo, who has been absent due to illness.
The action will be overseen by New Zealander Paul Williams, who will also return to Test action after appearing at the World Cup in France. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s refereeing.
Who is Paul Williams?
Born in Taranaki, New Zealand in 1985, Williams began his refereeing career in 2011 while playing as a scrum-half at club level. Three years later, he was appointed to New Zealand’s High Performance Referee Team and quickly rose through the national ranks, becoming a full-time referee with the Super Rugby Committee in 2016.
As well as Super Rugby matches, he also refereed the World Rugby U20 Championship final between England and Ireland in 2016, and the following year he refereed his first international test match.
He was selected to referee the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, and the following year he oversaw the first leg of the Bledisloe Cup series in Wellington, becoming the first New Zealander to take charge of a Test for the All Blacks. He became a born judge. coronavirus pandemic. He also played in last year’s World Cup in France.
Confession of “guilty”
New Zealander is one of several referees to feature in World Rugby’s new match whistleblower A documentary focusing on the experiences of those involved in the 2023 World Cup.
Williams was interviewed as part of the documentary and spoke about the impact that refereeing at the highest level has had on him and his family. Although he believes the sport has given him “everything,” he emotionally admits the guilt of not spending enough time focusing on his loved ones and says that is what makes him successful in the sport. It’s his decision.
“In 2011 I traveled to York to play rugby,” he said. “If I hadn’t found rugby, I would never have met my wife. Rugby has given me everything, but I’m a very driven person. What I did was that I became so attached to that goal that I spent less time interacting with the people around me.
“When you come to the World Cup, you only get one chance. You can’t turn around and say, ‘Can we do it again?’ My wife and I want to get on that plane and look around each one.” The others have three children across the aisle and I know we made the most of the opportunity.
“I just want you to know that we made some memories that I’ll never forget,” he added as tears began to flow. “That’s what we’re looking for. If we can do that, we’ll know it was a successful World Cup, not just for me but for my family.”
victim of brutal attack
In 2022, Williams was on the receiving end of an astonishing attack from a South African newspaper that prevented him from officiating the Rugby Championship match between the Springboks and Australia. south african They called for the referee to be banned from officiating in elite international matches in the future, saying he had brought shame to the sporting world.
The scathing attack cited a series of complaints during the match, including scrum-half Faf de Klerk being given a yellow card for “hitting” opposition number Nick White, with replays showing As the Wallabies star clutched his face, he theatrically collapsed to the ground. Just the slightest touch.
This incident, coupled with the failure to award a penalty to Marika Koroibete for a supposed shoulder charge, and accusations that Williams had allowed Australia to use “spoilers tactics”, led journalists to dismiss him for the rest of the season. A career that led to calls for him to be “banished to the bush leagues.”
The article goes on to say: “Paul Williams approved of Australian scrum-half Nick White’s performance, but his actions have no place in the sport. Williams and White are bringing the game into disrepute.” he added.
“Williams was one of the worst referees in modern rugby and brought shame to the rugby world. Williams’ egregious decision-making robbed the Springboks of momentum and points and changed the nature of the game. There’s no place for him to be an umpire.” With a big game coming up, he should be banished to the bush league for the rest of his days. ”
Italy vs England referee lineup
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee 1: Nick Berry (Australia)
Assistant referee 2: Pierre Bourset (France)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)