The young referee taking charge of Saturday’s first Test between South Africa and Wales in Pretoria found himself at the centre of one of the most talked about incidents of the year during the Six Nations.
Georgian Nika Amashukeli became the first official from outside the tier one countries to referee a game in the Championship when he was handed the whistle for February’s meeting between Ireland and Italy in Dublin. But it was not to be a straightforward initiation for the 27-year-old.
Just 19 minutes into the game, he was faced with having to make a decision which saw the Aviva Stadium clash descend into a farce. When Italian hooker Epalahame Faiva made contact with the chin of Irish opposite number Dan Sheehan with his shoulder, Amashukeli ruled there were no mitigating factors and issued a red card.
