Ireland v Scotland referee: Who is Six Nations official Matthew Carley?

The Englishman is one of the referees for this year’s championship

Matthew Carley will take charge of Ireland vs Scotland (AFP via Getty Images)

England’s Matthew Carley will take charge of the Six Nations round five fixture between Ireland and Scotland in Dublin.

Born in Deal, Kent, Carley began refereeing at the age of 16, working his way up through the Kent system either side of a stint at university in Gloucestershire.

The official soon made the step up to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) national panel, and became the first referee to officiate a professional game while wearing a body camera during the 2012/13 Championship season.

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A Premiership debut followed soon after, with Carley soon establishing himself as a regular in the top tier of English rugby.

His first international fixture arrived in 2015, with Portugal taking on Spain, and Carley took charge of a first game involving a Tier 1 nation in November 2016, overseeing Scotland against Georgia.

The 38-year-old travelled to the 2019 World Cup as an assistant referee, operating as a touch judge throughout the tournament, and was also the reserve referee if injury or illness prevented one of those selected to take the whistle from officiating.

He was one of three debutants who stepped up to the refereing panel for last year’s World Cup, and one of four English referees in France.

Match officials for Ireland v Scotland at the Aviva Stadium (4.45pm GMT kick off, Saturday 16 March)

Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)

ARs: Karl Dickson (Eng) & Christophe Ridley (Eng)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)