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It’s not just the idea of France, seeking a Grand Slam in search of their first Six Nations victory at Twickenham since 2005, that has generated intrigue for this weekend’s Le Crunch. Match referee Andrew Brace delivers a compelling subplot beyond England’s disciplinary woes in what is seen as a must-have match for both teams.
Brace was in charge of England’s controversial Fall Nations Cup final victory over France in December last year. Jaco Peyper was originally supposed to take over this weekend’s match but, when he was unable to travel due to restrictions on people arriving from South Africa to the UK, the Six Nations committee decided that Brace was the man. suitable for work.
Considering the terrible reaction Brace encountered after England’s victory, his appointment to Saturday’s match raised some eyebrows, but the Six Nations committee has defied the abusers and put their faith in the Welsh-born official. .
But who is he and what happened in December to cause controversy? Sport telegraph explains everything.
Who is he?
The 32-year-old is an international referee, hired by the Irish Rugby Union, who officiates in Pro14 and European competitions. Before becoming a professional referee, the Welsh-born Brace held rugby positions in the community in both Munster and Cardiff. He was also an avid player while living in Ireland, and played five times for Belgium, qualified through his father’s family, and also represented them in Sevens.
What is your track record?
Brace refereed his first test in 2017, a qualifier for the 2019 Rugby World Cup between Canada and the United States, and also refereed England’s annual fight with the Barbarians in the same year. The following year, he refereed his first ‘Tier One’ test, between Argentina and Wales. He has served as a referee and assistant referee in both the Six Nations and Rugby Championship, and appeared at the 2019 World Cup in last place.
Why is your appointment controversial?
Brace was the man with the whistle for England’s victory over France in December 2020, a match that required an overtime period to declare a winner. A second-row French team was on the wrong side of a couple of crucial decisions towards the latter stages of that match, which led to England scoring and, in turn, their comeback.
France felt that several crucial decisions went against them in the cup final defeat, and head coach Fabien Galthié said after the match that “the game was won by decisions, not actions … losing by decisions is difficult. “. Brace missed against France in two border incidents, by back rowers Cameron Woki and Selevasio Tolofua, and also missed a possible blow in preparation for England’s late attempt that saved the game.
Galthié’s assistant Shaun Edwards told BT Sport after the match: “We would like to have a little explanation about the knock-on in the last inning that led to a try.
“There was a knock-on in the run-up. The referees can’t see everything and neither can the touch judges, but we’re a bit disappointed … the TMO could have interfered in that decision.”
As revealed Sport telegraph, the backlash Brace received following his decisions in that match led to the European Professional Club Rugby withdrawing him from the Exeter Chiefs Champions Cup match (eventually postponed) in Toulouse. EPCR cited “well-being” concerns as the main driver for trading Brace from a France-based match, and the 32-year-old took over Wasps’ victory over Montpellier at the Ricoh Arena.
If familiarity breeds contempt, then referee Andrew Brace could benefit from a few over-his-shoulder glances at Twickenham on Saturday, but that wasn’t the first time the official had found himself in the middle of a high-profile controversy.
Brace was the referee for Bath’s infamous 2018 Champions Cup loss to Toulouse, a match that became notorious when Freddie Burns had the ball out of his hands over the French team’s goal line. Bath was enraged by Brace’s leniency towards two Toulouse tackles, which resulted in fines and bans for the respective players, Jerome Kaino and Lucas Pointud, but neither of whom received any on-field penalties at Rec.
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