Wales and England will reignite their old rivalry in Cardiff on Saturday with Warren Gatland's men still chasing their first victory of this year's Six Nations after a dramatic week of off-field issues in Welsh rugby.
Last time out, a closely fought match ended in controversy as Alex Dombrandt was awarded a second-half try, which made all the difference for England as they battled to a 23-19 win, despite Welsh claims that Adam Beard had been illegally pushed out of a lineout by Maro Itoje in the build-up. Wayne Pivac and Nigel Owens were among those left stunned by the call which overshadowed the dramatic contest at Twickenham in 2022.
Hoping for a quieter day this time around is Mathieu Raynal, who will be the man in the middle at the Principality Stadium this weekend. The French referee is experienced and known to fans around the world, but is also not immune from a bit of controversy having found himself in the middle of some high-profile incidents.
But who is he and what can Wales and England expect from his officiating on Saturday? We take a closer look:
Who is Mathieu Raynal?
Born in Perpignan in 1981, Raynal played for USA Perpignan and won the French Junior Championships in 1998. He joined a local referees society three years later while playing for the University of Perpignan first XV.
By the age of 25, he had officiated throughout the French amateur leagues and was promoted to the second division, taking charge of his first professional game between Grenoble and Toulon in the 2006–07 season.
He took charge of his first Test match when he oversaw Malta v Netherlands in the European Nations Cup Second Division, before was appointed by the International Rugby Board to the refereeing panel for the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy, where he refereed four matches. His first tier one fixture was Scotland's autumn international against Tonga in 2012.
Raynal made his first Six Nations appearance in 2017 as he took charge of the Calcutta Cup clash between England and Scotland at Twickenham, while he also appeared at the 2019 Rugby World Cup as he was in the man in the middle for South Africa v Namibia at the World Cup.
The Frenchman made headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons in March 2013, however, as he suffered a horrific injury during a Top 14 game between Montpellier and Racing Métro. Standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, he became caught between two players and suffered a double fracture to his tibia and fibula, broke his collarbone and sprained his ankle, with his agonising screams caught on his ref mic.
That injury ruled him out for nearly a year, but he was forced to hobble off in a game between Munster and Sale Sharks months after making his return, while he was also forced off with a hamstring injury in Exeter's Champions Cup defeat to the Bulls earlier this year.
What happened during Australia v New Zealand ?
Last year, Raynal was chosen to referee the first of the Bledisloe Cup matches between Australia and New Zealand, but his perfrormance that day is remembered for all the wrong reasons, as his match-deciding decision made him public enemy number one Down Under.
The Wallabies lost the dramatic encounter to the All Blacks after the French referee pinged Australia fly-half Bernard Foley for time-wasting in the final minutes in Melbourne, with New Zealand scoring from the resulting scrum to snatch a narrow 39-37 victory with the clock in the red.
The decision, which is virtually unseen in elite rugby, left players and pundits stunned, with outraged scrum-half Nic White telling Raynal post-match that he had cost them the Rugby Championship. Meanwhile, Rugby Australia also wrote to World Rugby to voice its concerns over Raynal's refereeing as the Frenchman's call was the subject of much discussion in the days and weeks that followed.
The saga took a somewhat tasteless turn, however, as White and fellow international Ned Hanigan were invited to take part in a challenge where they could get 'revenge' on the official as they attended the Australian Open in January.
The pair were given the opportunity to fire tennis balls into a screen where Raynal was pictured, with the presenter of the segment, shown on Stan Sport, inviting them to take out their frustrations on "the man who robbed you of victory".
However, Raynal stood by his call, telling French media: "I always take responsibility for what I do. I take responsibility for this decision 100%. I had the necessary reasons to take it. I know it's a decision that makes people talk, that makes a lot of noise, but I try to free myself from this context of pressure to make what seems to me the fairest calls. This is the heart of my job. And sometimes, it creates tensions, frustrations, controversies but I take responsibility for it. Things are never white or black but often grey."
Who are the Wales v England officials?
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU) and Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
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