Ireland take the next step on their quest for Grand Slam glory this weekend as they travel to Rome to face Italy.
Andy Farrell's side showed their class in an enthralling win over France a fortnight ago and are tipped to secure a clean sweep of wins as they look to cement their place at the top of the World Rugby rankings with the World Cup just months away.
They now face a side that they have beaten in all but one of their 23 meetings in the Six Nations, but there could be a surprise in store after the Italians pushed world number twos France to within minutes of a shock defeat in the opening round before losing to England at Twickenham a week later.
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The man in the middle at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday is Mike Adamson, who only made his Six Nations debut in 2021 but is already well-known to fans after finding himself at the centre of some much-talked about incidents.
But who is Mike Adamson and what can Italy and Ireland expect from his officiating? Here's everything you need to know:
Who is Mike Adamson?
Born in Stirling in Scotland, Adamson represented amateur side Glasgow Hawks for 11 years before securing a full-time contract with Glasgow Warriors in 2007. While he played in a handful of pre-season friendlies for the Warriors, he only made one competitive appearance for them as he found himself stuck behind Scottish internationals Dan Parks and Ruairidh Jackson in the pecking order for fly-half. He later moved to London Scottish, but again only played one competitive match for the side.
But despite a somewhat limited club career, Adamson played for Scotland through the age grades, representing his country at U16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and Club XV levels. He received senior caps for the Scotland Sevens side, and was their player of the season in 2006-2007, going on to play in 30 World Rugby Sevens events and representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
After retiring from professional rugby, Adamson chose to pursue refereeing rather than coaching, explaining: "I have gained a lot from rugby and would like to give back to the sport."
He quickly worked his way up the refereeing ladder, taking charge in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in England, the Currie Cup in South Africa as well as officiating PRO D2 in France and Japan's Top League.
Having officiated in World Sevens matches since 2014, Adamson was also appointed to the refereeing panel for the Sevens events at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The same year, he also became the first ex-player to play and referee in the Celtic League/ Pro 12 league as he took charge of Munster versus Treviso.
He made his Test refereeing debut in the Six Nations in 2021 and took charge of England v Wales at Twickenham Stadium during last year's championship, coming under fire for a controversial decision that saw the hosts clinch victory.
What controversy has he been involved in?
Adamson would have been hoping for a quiet affair at Twickenham last year but he quickly became the main talking point following the game after he awarded a controversial try to England that ended up being the decisive score.
Alex Dombrandt's try in the opening moments of the second half made all the difference for the hosts as they battled to a 23-19 win, but Wales claimed that Adam Beard had been pushed out of a lineout by Maro Itoje in the build-up, with the England No. 8 latching onto Ryan Elias' wayward throw and scoring.
Wales boss Wayne Pivac was unhappy the matter wasn't referred to the TMO, arguing it would have been overturned upon review because of Maro Itoje's push - and legendary Welsh referee Nigel Owens appeared to concur, adding that he was surprised to not see the incident checked over as it cost Wales the game.
"You cannot obstruct an opponent from jumping at the lineout, and when you watch the footage back it looks like Itoje did that, before Dombrandt subsequently scored," he told The Telegraph. "Normally, if there was any doubt then the referee would refer to the television match official, and because that incident was a moment of foul play it is covered under the protocol of using the TMO.
"Even if the officials were not aware of the incident, the TMO would be watching everything in the truck and could intervene. I was surprised that didn't happen, particularly when the Wales players were asking the referee to check for foul play. That would normally trigger a review."
He continued: "I was never one for wanting players to tell me to check something, and would tell them to not come chasing me for potential incidents to be reviewed. But if the captain or the player concerned did so in the correct manner regarding a particular moment, that would make me question whether they have a point and I would ask the TMO to have a look.
"If it had been checked, then the decision centres on whether Itoje obstructed Beard from jumping at the lineout. I would say Itoje probably did obstruct Beard, which means if it had been checked, I would have been pretty surprised if the try had stood. If you did not see the incident yourself as the referee, you would be hoping that your assistants and the TMO would intervene. The smile on Itoje's face said everything, really!
"The reason people will be disappointed is because moments like that are why we have the technology in the game. I have seen the comments made by Pivac and he is right to be disappointed and to ask the question why it wasn't checked."
It was not the first controversy involving Dombrandt that Adamson had been part of, however, as weeks before the Six Nations clash, he also came under fire for his handling of the big European Champions Cup tie which saw Harlequins beat Castres 36-33, in which he awarded another controversial and decisive try to the No. 8 in the final minutes which saw Castres eliminated.
Flak came in from far and wide over the officiating after a number of controversial calls throughout the game, with former England fly-half Andy Goode leading the way by tweeting: "Got to feel for Castres there, some horrific decisions have gone against them," before ex-Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan added: "People wonder why coaches get so upset with referees. Most frustrating part is there are zero consequences for Mike Adamson. He is promoted to the Six Nations despite his performance.”
And, just a two months before that, a thrilling Wales win over Australia during the autumn internationals was overshadowed by another moment of controversy, with the blame again being placed squarely at Adamson's door.
Early in the second half, Welsh centre Nick Tompkins intercepted a Wallabies pass and knocked the ball to the ground in the process. While many Australia players paused to appeal to the ref, expecting him to blow up, Tompkins picked up the ball and ran clear to dot it down under the posts. Video replays showed the Saracens star barking "back, back" at the official, as he convinced Adamson that the ball had been knocked backwards. However, Australia were not convinced, and argued that the ball had clearly gone forward.
Adamson and television match official Marius Jonker consulted replays of the incident and decided the try should stand, leading Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie to describe their officiating as "horrendous", with World Rugby later issuing a written warning to Rugby Australia and Rennie for the boss' comments, which he apologised for.
Who are the Italy v Ireland officials?
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU) and Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
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