Matthew Carley will be the man in the middle at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday as Ireland and Italy get the 2020 Guinness Six Nations back underway in Dublin.
This will be Englishman Carley’s second match in charge at this year’s Championships, after officiating France’s 27-23 victory over Wales in Round 3.
Luke Pearce and Mike Adamson are the assistant referees for Saturday’s showdown, while Tom Foley will be the man behind the screen as TMO.
Andy Farrell’s side have their destiny in their own hands as the Guinness Six Nations resumes, with two bonus-point victories enough to secure a second Irish Championship in three years.
A strong opening two rounds saw Ireland defeat both Scotland and Wales in Dublin, before going down 24-12 to England at Twickenham in the third weekend of action.
And despite sitting fourth as play resumes, a bonus-point victory this weekend would see Johnny Sexton and co. leading the way going into next Saturday’s triple-header.
Franco Smith has gone for youth over experience in his new-look Italy squad for the remainder of the Championship, with 11 players under 23 named in his training squad last month.
Wales and Scotland both prevented Smith’s side from registering any points in their matches earlier in the year, so the 48-year-old will be hoping the shake-up has the desired effect when the action restarts.
Saturday’s visitors currently prop up the table after three successive defeats, and the Azzurri will be looking to turn that form around to end the Championship on a high.
Ireland v Italy (Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland; 24 Oct 2020; 3.30pm)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England) Assistant 1: Luke Pearce (England) Assistant 2: Mike Adamson (Scotland) TMO: Tom Foley (England)
