England v Ireland referee forced off injured in crunch Six Nations clash

Andrea Piardi crumpled to the grass in pain and hobbled off with a quad injury during the first half of the game at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

Andrea Piardi crumpled to the grass in pain (Action Images via Reuters)

Players getting injured is an unfortunate by-product of the physicality of rugby but the Six Nations clash between England and Ireland saw the much rarer instance of a referee having to be replaced due to injury.

In the 29th minute of the clash at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, referee Andrea Piardi crumpled to the turf in the England 22 clutching his leg.

The Italian knew instantly that something was seriously wrong as he could be heard saying over the ref mic “yeah, I’m gone. I’m done.” After receiving some treatment from the medical teams, he called both captains – Maro Itoje, winning his 100th England cap, and Caelan Doris – over to him and confirmed a quadriceps issue.

“I’m done. My quad is gone. Best of luck for the rest of the game, guys,” Piardi could be heard saying before receiving consoling pats on the back from both players.

He was clapped off by the capacity crowd in southwest London and assistant referee Pierre Brousset jogged on to replace him for the rest of the game, with Craig Maxwell-Keys called to run the line in Brousset’s stead.

Ireland were winning 15-0 at the time of the injury and the new man in the middle didn’t seem to faze them, as they scored a third try almost immediately, to move 22-0 ahead of a beleaguered England.

Andrea Piardi picked up the injury during the first half of the clash (Getty Images)

Piardi spoke to both captains before hobbling off (Getty Images)

Piardi made history back in 2024 when he became the first Italian to take charge of a fixture in the men’s Six Nations.

Before that, the 32-year-old had been a familiar face on the touchlines as an assistant over the previous few years, travelling to the World Cup in France in the autumn of 2023 as the sole Italian representative in the officiating group.

Born in Brescia, Piardi made his debut in what is now the United Rugby Championship in 2019, and he stepped up to international level that March, looking after Germany vs Spain in Cologne. His quick rise continued with an appointment to the URC final between the Stormers and Munster in 2023.

A mechanical engineering graduate from his hometown university, Piardi became a professional referee relatively recently but is highly regarded. He took charge of the second British and Irish Lions Test against Australia at the MCG last July.