The world's top two men's sides, Ireland and France, go head to head this weekend in the most-highly billed fixture of this year's Six Nations.
They both got off to winning ways in the opening round, the Irish running rampant in Cardiff as they scored four tries on their way to victory over Wales, while Les Bleus overcame a determined Italy side with a last minute Mathieu Jalibert try ensuring a successful start to their title defence.
The game is not only likely to decide the outcome of this Six Nations, with the teams tipped as potential Grand Slam winners, France could also leapfrog Ireland in the world rankings with a victory, with the World Cup just months away.
With so much at stake, it's no surprise that the most experienced official has been chosen to oversee the game, Wayne Barnes the man in the middle in Dublin.
He's a legend among referees, but who exactly is Wayne Barnes and what can the sides expect from his officiating? We take a closer look:
Who is Wayne Barnes?
Born in Gloucestershire in 1979, Barnes started playing rugby at the age of eight and took up refereeing as a teenager. In 2001, at the age of 21, he became the youngest referee appointed to the Panel of National Referees and turned professional four years later.
He made his Test debut in 2006 having already refereed on the Sevens circuit as well as at the U19 World Cup and U21 Rugby World Championship. Barnes has gone on to become a familiar face to rugby fans all over the globe, taking charge of games at multiple Six Nations Championships and four World Cups.
He has also refereed in the Heineken Cup, taking charge of his first final in 2010, while he holds the all-time appearances record in the English Premiership. He made history in the final of that competition in 2013, by becoming the first referee to send off a player in the final after Northampton captain Dylan Hartley called him a "cheat".
In November, Barnes was the man in the middle for Autumn Nations series match between Wales and New Zealand, his 100th international as a referee which saw him equal the record set by Nigel Owens. He went on to break this record when he took charge of France v South Africa.
Off the field, he is a criminal barrister and has defended some of the largest global organisations.
Why did he nearly quit rugby?
Barnes' record-breaking match was nearly his last as he revealed he considered walking away from refereeing after his wife and children were subjected to online threats following South Africa's loss to France in November.
The game was overshadowed by the post-match actions of Rassie Erasmus, the South Africa director of rugby, who posted a series of video clips on Twitter that appeared to highlight decisions by Barnes that went against South Africa.
While Erasmus would later receive a suspension from World Rugby, Barnes and his family became the target of online abuse - with the referee even reporting two perpetrators to the police. Speaking publicly about the abuse for the first time with The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Barnes said that his wife, Polly, was threatened with “sexual violence”.
“Criticism on social media quickly becomes abuse,” Barnes said. “That is the world we live in. That is social media. But I make the decision to be a referee, make the decision to be on social media. Polly, my wife, doesn’t make the decision to be a referee. On the Saturday night, there started to be some direct abuse at Polly. Then, the following two or three days, there was direct abuse to Polly, threats of sexual violence and threats against the kids.
“That takes it to a different level. When you’ve done 100 games, you think you can prepare for most things. You can’t prepare for that. I don’t mind people criticising my performance and, if they want to abuse me directly, that’s their choice. But that wasn’t just a line that was crossed. You couldn’t even see the line, it had gone that far. It affects you and it affects your family.”
It wasn't the first time that Barnes received vile abuse as he was also sent threats by New Zealand fans after they were knocked out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in the quarter-finals.
Who are the Ireland v France officials?
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (RFU) and Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
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