WALES begin their Six Nations title defence against Ireland in Dublin.
And there’s plenty of experience in the middle as Jaco Peyper has been selected as referee.
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But with that experience has come controversy during his lengthy career.
Who is Jaco Peyper?
Jaco Peyper was born in Bloemfontein in 1980.
In 2008, he made his Super Rugby debut while still in his 20s, before entering the international scene during Scotland’s 2012 tour of Oceania.
Peyper took charge of the Scots’ 9-6 win over Australia, their 37-25 win over Fiji and their 17-16 victory over Tonga.
He was chosen to officiate in both the 2015 and the 2019 Rugby World Cups.
Outside of rugby, he is a trained lawyer and he and his wife Zenobia have two children together.
Why has Jaco Peyper caused controversy?
Jaco Peyper caused controversy during another Wales match, the 2019 Rugby World Cup final against France.
Peyper sent off France lock Sebastien Vahaamahina for a brutal elbow on Aaron Wainwright.
However, after the match he was pictured laughing with Wales fans while performing an elbow gesture.
As a result, World Rugby launched an investigation and opted not to select Peyper for the rest of the tournament, labelling the gesture “inappropriate”.
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Ahead of Ireland vs Wales, stand-in Welsh captain Dan Biggar joked that Peyper would be having sleepless nights at the thought of refereeing him and fiery Irish captain Johnny Sextion.
He said: “For the first game Jaco Peyper has got me and him so I bet he’s having sleepless nights!
“(In all seriousness) it will be a challenge because my nature is very fiery and competitive. It is kind of a double-edged sword.
!For me, as a player, I need to be at a level where I am emotionally on edge but obviously there has to be a line.
“I’m really looking forward to testing myself. Only time will tell if it will come across right but I’m going to fly into it the best I can.”
