England host Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday as they seek to end their consecutive Kolkata Cup defeats in their first game under new manager Steve Borthwick.

Last time in a nervous game, Gregor Townsend’s side retained the historic trophy as they narrowly won 20-17, with a Luke Cowan-Dickie penalty and a decisive Finn Russell penalty in the last 10 minutes, giving them the victory.

The penalty decision was controversial to say the least, with former Scotland manager Matt Williams claiming that England were “robbed” because they expected to win.

Hoping to avoid a similar controversy this time around is Paul Williams, who is mediating between the former rivals this weekend when he returns to the Six Nations after a three-year absence.

But who is Paul Williams and what can England and Scotland expect from his work? Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Paulo Williams?

Williams was born in Taranaki, New Zealand in 1985. He began his refereeing career in 2011 playing scrimmage at club level. Three years later he was appointed to the New Zealand High Performance Referees Squad and quickly rose through the ranks at national level before becoming a permanent Super Rugby Commission referee in 2016.

In addition to Super Rugby matches, he refereed the Rugby World Cup U20 Final between England and Ireland in 2016, before featuring in his first international test match the following year.

He was selected to umpire at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and a year later became the first New Zealand-born umpire to umpire in an All Blacks Test when he oversaw the first Bledisloe Cup series match in Wellington.

Have you refereed England or Scotland before?

Yes, Williams led each side four times. Steve Borthwick’s team are particularly familiar with the New Zealander after he oversaw their final test against Australia last summer. England won 17-21 in a quiet game and the referee probably expected more at Twickenham this weekend.

Scotland is also an important team for Williams, as the official last appeared in the Six Nations in the 28-17 victory over France in 2020. It was the last match of the tournament before being postponed to October due to the outbreak of coronavirus. . In that game, he sent off Les Bleus tough-headed Mohamed Hawass for a tackle on Scotsman Jamie Ritchie, his dismissal effectively ending France’s title and Grand Slam ambitions.

He also captained Gregor Townsend’s side in their first international test match when they faced Italy in Singapore. It was a busy day, with Dean Budd and Abraham Stein sent off, the latter for a dangerous tackle.

How did he “bring shame” to sports?

Last year, Williams found himself on the verge of a notable attack from a South African media outlet who criticized his officiating in the Springboks’ match against Australia in the 2022 Rugby Championship. South Africa demanded that the referee be banned from refereeing elite international matches in the future, accusing him of embarrassing the sport.

The hard-hitting attack led to a slew of game-related insults, including the decision to show running back Faf de Klerk a yellow card for a ‘kick’ on opposite number Nick White, with the Wallabies star dramatically falling to the ground holding his hand . Dear. after showing repeat the slightest contact.

The incident, coupled with the failure to chastise Marika Koroibete for an alleged shoulder charge and allegations that Williams had allowed Australia to use “spoiler tactics”, led one journalist to call for him to be “sent into the bushes” for the rest of your life. life. time. professional career.

The article added: “Paul Williams scaled the performance of Australian scrum-half Nick White, whose actions have no place in the sport. Williams and White are discrediting the game.

Williams disgraced the game of rugby with one of the worst refereeing performances in modern rugby. Williams’ diabolical decision stole the Springboks’ momentum and points and changed the nature of the game. This referee has no place to officiate big games and should be banished to the bush leagues for the rest of his days.”

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Who are the England v Scotland referees?

  • Judge: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
  • Assistant referee 1: Ben O’Keefe (New Zealand)
  • Assistant referee 2: James Doleman (New Zealand)
  • BMT: Brandon Pickerill (New Zealand)
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