Six Nations Countdown: The men in the middle

Romain Poite (France)

Age: 41

Occupation: Professional referee

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Mathieu Raynal - Matches: Scotland v Italy, Murrayfield

Matches: Scotland v Ireland, Murrayfield; England v Italy, Twickenham.

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He takes a strong stance at scrum time and will reward what he perceives to be the dominant one, as Australia discovered in the third test against the Lions in 2013. There is no doubt about who is the boss on the pitch, although he’s slightly less dictatorial having mellowed a tad. He studies footage of the teams he’s going to referee in the week of a game for pointers on the day in question; which can prove a good/bad thing for a team that say dominated/struggled in the scrum the previous weekend. He encourages his assistant referees to have an input. He referees Ireland’s opening game.

Angus Gardiner (Australia)

Age: 32

Occupation: Professional referee

Matches: England v France, Twickenham.

The young Australian will take charge of 'Le Crunch', as one newspaper liked to label the clashes between England and France. It is in recognition of a burgeoning reputation and a fair assessment of him being one of, if not the, best young official in the game. He likes to let the game flow and as a result is pretty strict about the breakdown, particularly for sluggish tacklers not rolling away or delayed ball release. On Saturday he'll referee an English National League one game between Rosslyn Park and Loughborough Students and England coach Eddie Jones is planning to attend.

JP Doyle (England)

Age: 37

Occupation: Professional referee

Matches: Italy v Wales, Stadio Olimpico.

The Dublin born, son of the late Terry, once learned Georgian phrases so that he could communicate with the tier two nation’s players during a 2015 Rugby World Cup match. He also speaks French when applicable. He is courteous, pleasant and a good communicator with the players, if occasionally slightly frazzled looking. There has been some criticism of his generosity with the offside line but that’s as much to do with communication from the assistant referees. He likes to see the game move and has the fitness to facilitate that desire.

Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Age: 41

Occupation: Professional referee

Matches: Italy v Ireland, Stadio Olimpico

The last time he refereed an Ireland game was the third test defeat to the Springboks last summer. As befits a former outhalf - he is the first New Zealander to play and referee 100 first class fixtures - he appears at times to be befuddled at what goes on at scrum time. According to one observer, 12 scrums in a game between Scotland and France at Murrayfield took 19 and a half minutes, of game time, reinforcing the assertion of him being a little hesitant at times. He likes to facilitate a fast, open game, something that the players appreciate and that should stand to Ireland in Rome.

Jerome Garces (France)

Age: 43

Occupation: Professional Referee

Matches: Wales v England, Principality stadium; Ireland v England, Aviva stadium

He exudes a calm, smiling but authoritative presence on the pitch, less dictator and more facilitator. Known for his reading of the scrum like many of his French colleagues, he's hot on those not rolling away at the breakdown and slowing ruck ball. He's consistent and clear in his officiating and is not afraid to use technology to review an incident, for example upgrading Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg's yellow card to red after seeing footage of the incident on the stadium screen during a 2014 Six Nations match. He's got arguably the two biggest matches of the championship and deservedly so.

Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Age: 36

Occupation: Professional Referee/Consultant at Peyper Sesele Inc. Law firm in Bloemfontein.

Matches: France v Scotland, Stade de France

It's fair to say that he mightn't be the most popular referee amongst the Ireland players, management and supporters following his performances in Irish matches against France and the most recent one against the All Blacks in Dublin. He comes across as hesitant and unsure at times and one wonders what he would do if there wasn't a TMO present at matches given the amount of times that he refers decisions. And when he doesn't, he should have on a couple of high profile occasions. It's not just Irish supporters that he's annoyed. Wales were unhappy when he was picked up on a mic asking New Zealand captain Kieran Read "are you happy with that" after he awarded a penalty to Wales for a take out in the air.

John Lacey (Ireland)

Age: 43

Occupation: Coach Development officer with Munster rugby

Matches: Scotland v Wales, Murrayfield.

It’s sometimes funny watching his expression while refereeing and trying to reconcile it with the affable, smiling former Shannon and Munster fullback cum wing with a good sense of fun. He comes across as very serious on the pitch, rather po-faced and sharp in tone in delivering his rulings. Right or wrong he brooks no argument and as a result doesn’t get too many queries from the respective captains. He was the fastest referee according to testing in 2014 and has no problem in keeping up with the play. Inclusive in terms of input from his assistants during matches

Nigel Owens (Wales)

Age: 45

Occupation: Professional Referee

Matches: Ireland v France, Aviva stadium

Universally popular with players, supporters and coaches he would be a strong contender for the sport’s premier referee. He likes to let the game flow but keeps a strong control on proceedings and is a good communicator with a superb line in put-downs when players get a bit chirpy. He has a love and a feel for the sport that comes through in the way he handles a game and is happy to go with his own judgement in watching replays on the big screen rather than always lean on the television match official.

Wayne Barnes (England)

Age: 37

Occupation: Professional Referee/Barrister with Fulcrum Chambers, two days a week.

Matches: Wales v Ireland, Principality stadium; France v Wales, Stade de France

A hugely experienced referee who has adopted a more sympathetic, communicative style in recent years. He tends to polarise opinion and would have his detractors but he is a strong official with the character to ignore the howling and catcalls from the stand. He allows a good contest at the breakdown and in generally consistent with the possible exception of scrum time where the penalty count occasionally can be a little tit for tat. Ireland shouldn’t be unhappy he’s in charge in Cardiff.

Dr Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)

Age: 28

Occupation: Professional Referee/Doctor

Matches: Italy v France, Stadio Olimpico

Alongside Gardner he is one of the new upcoming and highly thought of young referees. He referred the Under-20 World Cup final between England and South Africa in 2014 and since then has officiated in Super Rugby before making his test debut in a game between Tier 1 nations when Scotland hosted Argentina last November. He is unflappable, a good communicator and very competent in all aspects of the game. The match he’s been assigned isn’t the easiest one so he will benefit from the experience, particularly in adjudicating at scrum and breakdown.

Pascal Gauzere (France)

Age: 39

Occupation: Professional Referee

Matches: Scotland v Italy, Murrayfield

He’s experienced and has a reputation for being competent in discharging his duties across all aspects of the game. The one thing that is obvious from his refereeing history is that the Frenchman is not afraid to brandish yellow cards; actually that’s an understatement. Teams don’t get half a dozen warnings. In last year’s game between Ireland and Scotland he sent three players to the sin bin and that’s common theme in examining his career in the Top 14 and Champions Cup as well.

Mathieu Raynal (France)

Age: 35

Occupation: Professional Referee

Matches: England v Scotland, Twickenham

He is one of the finest young referees in the northern hemisphere and is well known to Ireland fans in recent times. He sent off CJ Stander last summer against the Springboks and more recently was the referee when Ireland beat the All Blacks in Chicago. As you may recall he relentlessly punished New Zealand at the breakdown, an area from which he demands a quick ball release. He’s strong, calm and not afraid to get out the cards, albeit that unusually he demonstrated a reluctance to do so initially in Chicago.