Jaco Peyper to take charge of Ireland’s Six Nations trip to Twickenham

South African referee Jaco Peyper will take charge of Ireland’s clash against England at Twickenham on Sunday, February 23rd .

Peyper was ruled out of consideration for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after he was pictured posing for a photograph with Welsh fans in which he appeared to mock the elbow to Aaron Wainwright's head delivered by Sebastien Vahaamahina that saw Peyper red-card the French lock during the quarter-final between the sides.

England's Wayne Barnes will take charge of Ireland's closing game, and the final game of the tournament , when France host Andy Farrell's side at the Stade de France on Saturday, March 14th at 9pm (8pm Irish time).

Australia's Nic Berry will referee Ireland's home game against Italy on Saturday, March 7th, while French referees Mathieu Reynal and Romain Poite will take charge of the home games against Scotland and Wales on the opening two weekends of the tournament.

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IRFU referee Andrew Brace will make his Six Nations debut in next year's competition, taking charge of the meeting of France and Italy in Paris on Saturday, February 9th.

Born in Wales and a former Belgium international, Brace worked as a community rugby officer for Munster for seven years and was encouraged to take up officiating by Munster player and referee John Lacey.

Brace will be one of the assistant referees to Nigel Owens for the meeting of France and England in Paris on the opening weekend of the tournament, a game that will also see Ireland's Brian MacNeice make his debut as a Television Match Official.

Owens will return the favour and assist Brace the following Sunday for the game in Paris alongside New Zealand's Brendon Pickerill, with MacNeice taking the TMO role. Brace will also be an assistant referee for the meeting of Italy and England in Rome on the final weekend, while Frank Murphy will be an assistant when Scotland meet France at Murrayfield on Sunday, March 8th. MacNeice will be TMO for both those games.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1st
Wales v Italy, Principality Stadium, 2.15pm
Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)
Assistants: Matthew Carley (Eng), Mike Fraser (NZ)
TMO: James Leckie (Aus)

IRELAND v Scotland, Aviva Stadium, 4.45
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (Fra)
Assistant s: Pascal Gauzere (Fra), Federico Anselmi (Arg)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2nd
France v England, Stade de France, 4.0 (3.0 Irish time)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wal)
Assistants: Andrew Brace (Irl), Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Irl)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8th
IRELAND v Wales, Aviva Stadium, 2.15
Referee: Romain Poite (Fra)
Assistants: Luke Pearce (Eng), Mike Fraser (NZ)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)

Scotland v England, Murrayfield, 4.45
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (Fra)
Assistants: Mathieu Raynal (Fra), Federico Anselmi (Arg)
TMO: James Leckie (Aus)

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9th
France v Italy, Stade de France, 4.0 (3.0 Irish time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Irl)
Assistants: Nigel Owens (Wal), Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Irl)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 22nd
Italy v Scotland, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 3.15 (2.15 Irish time)
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ)
Assistants: Mathieu Raynal (Fra), Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (En)

Wales v France, Principality Stadium, 4.45
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistants: Wayne Barnes (Eng), Karl Dickson (Eng)
TMO: Graham Hughes (Eng)

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23rd
England v IRELAND, Twickenham, 3.0
Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)
Assistants: Romain Poite (Fra), Alexandre Ruiz (Fra)
TMO: Marius Jonker (RSA)

SATURDAY MARCH 7th
IRELAND v Italy, Aviva Stadium, 2.15 Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)
Assistants: Angus Gardner (Aus), Karl Dickson (Eng)
TMO: Graham Hughes (Eng)

England v Wales, Twickenham, 4.45
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ)
Assistants: Romain Poite (Fra), Alexandre Ruiz (Fra)
TMO: Marius Jonker (RSA)

SUNDAY MARCH 8th
Scotland v France, Murrayfield, 3.0
Referee: Paul Williams (NZ)
Assistants: Wayne Barnes (Eng), Frank Murphy (Irl)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Irl)

SATURDAY MARCH 14th
Wales v Scotland, Principality Stadium, 2.15
Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)
Assistants: Nic Berry (Aus), Karl Dickson (Eng)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (Eng)

Italy v England, Stadio Olimpico, 5.45 (4.45 Irish time)
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (Fra)
Assistants: Andrew Brace (Irl), Alexandre Ruiz (Fra)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Irl)

France v IRELAND, Stade de France, 8.0
Referee: Wayne Barnes (Eng)
Assistants:Paul Williams (NZ), Mike Adamson (Sco)
TMO: Marius Jonker (RSA)