Assistant referee replaced for Twickenham encounter after visit to England training camp

World Rugby has replaced assistant referee Marius van der Westhuizen in the final round of the Six Nations Championship clash between England and Ireland at Twickenham after his visit to the red rose team's training camp last week.

The South African was invited by England boss Eddie Jones last Tuesday to assist them and as a result he has been replaced by Nigel Owens for the high voltage clash.

“We do it by the book,” Jones said. “I don’t understand what all the hullabaloo is about.”

However, World Rugby went on to defend the move and insisted that the teams are encouraged to invite referees to their training sessions provided they do not officiate for that particular side in the competition or the international window. The governing body also took full responsibility for the 'oversight'.

“Marius should not have been involved given that he was a member of the match official team for the weekend’s match,” World Rugby said.

“World Rugby takes responsibility for this oversight and has taken the proactive decision to stand Marius down to avoid any additional unfair and unnecessary conjecture.

“World Rugby has also clarified with teams that, in addition to the regular pre-match coach and referee meetings, senior elite teams will continue to have the opportunity to request that a member of the high-performance match official panel attends training providing that the individual is not a member of the match official team officiating that team at a later date within the current competition or test window.”

England will be desperate to bounce back from their defeats against Scotland and France when they face Ireland, who are bidding for their third Grand Slam.

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