Springboks: Who will referee the Friday game against France?
· The South African
The Springboks are bracing themselves for an intense battle against France in their Nations Championship fixture in Paris on Friday, and the performance of the referee team will undoubtedly come into sharp focus.
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It’s a match up that could have a huge impact on where each team finishes on the table of this new tournament, which will conclude with a finals weekend at the end of November.
For this Friday’s clash, Andrea Piardi will be the referee, taking charge of a Springbok game for the third time.
He was also the man in the middle when the Springboks recently suffered a shock defeat to Australia at the end of September, while the first match involving South Africa with Piardi as the referee saw Rassie Erasmus’ team edge Argentina in London in 2025.
Piardi will be assisted by Englishman Christophe Ridley and fellow countryman Gianluca Gnecchi, while another Italian – Matteo Liperini – will serve as the TMO.
REFEREE APPOINTMENTS AS THE SPRINGBOKS KICK OFF ROUND FIVE OF THE NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
France v SpringboksStade de France, Saint-Denis
Friday, 13 November, 2026Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)Italy v Argentina
Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Saturday, 14 November, 2026Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (SARU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)Wales v New Zealand
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Saturday, 14 November, 2026Referee: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
FPRO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)England v Japan
Allianz Stadium, London
Saturday, 14 November, 2026Referee: Damián Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)Ireland v Fiji
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Saturday, 14 November, 2026Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)Scotland v Australia
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Sunday, 15 November, 2026Referee: James Doleman (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)England v New Zealand
Allianz Stadium, London
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referee 2: Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)Scotland v Japan
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 1: James Doleman (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)Ireland v Springboks
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referee 2: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)Italy v Fiji
Bluenergy Stadium, Udine
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
FPRO: Dan Jones (RFU)France v Argentina
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)Wales v Australia
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Saturday, 21 November, 2026Referee: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Jérémy Rozier (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)North 6 v South 6
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Friday, 27 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO: North 3 v South 3
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Friday, 27 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO: North 5 v South 5
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Saturday, 28 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO: North 2 v South 2
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Saturday, 28 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO: North 4 v South 4
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Saturday, 28 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO: North 1 v South 1
Allianz Stadium, London, England
Saturday, 28 November, 2026Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
TMO:
FPRO:
READY FOR BATTLE
Looking ahead to Friday’s clash, assistant coach Felix Jones said there may still be a “revenge” factor to the game from the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final – won by a single point by the Springboks – which has been a big talking point in France.
“To be honest with you, I would imagine it’s still there,” said Jones on Tuesday.
“It was such a significant game that I don’t think it goes away easily. A lot of that niggle is on the field, and it comes back to the intensity. But most of it stops there.
“Fabien Galthié (France head coach) is one of the first coaches from outside Ireland that I got to know. He came over and visited myself, Rassie (Erasmus) and Jacques (Nienaber) when we were at Munster, and Raphaël Ibañez (their team manager) did the same.
“So, there are some good relationships off the field, but when we’re on the field, we want to win, and we have no doubt they want to as well, given the results of the last one or two games.”