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John Jones

Scotland v Italy referee Angus Gardner, his devastating teenage diagnosis and the call that stunned Alun Wyn Jones

Both Scotland and Italy will be looking to end their Six Nations championships on a high as they go head-to-head at Murrayfield on Super Saturday.

Gregor Townsend's side are no longer in contention for the title but can wrap up a third place finish on the final day after a strong start to the campaign saw them earn wins over England and Wales before being beaten by France and Ireland.

Italy, meanwhile, will be hoping to avoid the wooden spoon after losing out to Wales in Rome last weekend, and must win in Edinburgh if they are to stand any chance of finishing in fifth place rather than bottom.

Overseeing the contest will be Australian referee Angus Gardner. A former World Rugby Referee of the Year, he has officiated at the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup and has been at the heart of incidents involving some of the game's biggest stars.

But who exactly is Angus Gardner and what can Scotland and Italy expect from him on Saturday?

Who is Angus Gardner?

Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1984, Gardner was a keen rugby player as a teenager until he was diagnosed with a hereditary disc condition called Scheuremann's Disease.

Reflecting on the moment he was diagnosed, Gardner told the Sydney Morning Herald: "The doctor was like 'mate, you need to take up fishing' and that was devastating to hear. One of the teachers suggested refereeing as a way of staying involved and I went from there."

He took up refereeing in 1999 at the age of 15 but only became a full-time ref in 2015. He had been appointed to his first Test match four years prior, as he took charge of an Oceania Cup match between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatuan, while he made his Super Rugby debut the following year as he officiated Queensland Reds v Melbourne Rebels at Suncorp Stadium.

Gardner was appointed to the IRB Junior World Championship in 2012 and 2014, and took charge of the semi-final between England and Ireland in 2014. He refereed at his first Rugby World Cup in 2015 and took charge of the Super Rugby final in 2018, the same year he was awarded the prestigious prize of World Rugby Referee of the Year.

What happened between him and Alun Wyn Jones?

Gardner took charge of Wales' second Test against the Springboks during their tour of South Africa last summer and left former captain Alun Wyn Jones stunned after making what seemed to be a controversial call during the second half.

Jones was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin after 57 minutes having been accused by the referee of cynically using his hands in a ruck to move the ball close to Wales' try line.

However, initial video footage suggested that this was not the case, with the ball seemingly coming off a 'Boks knee instead. The Welsh lock looked incredulous at the decision and initially appeared reluctant to leave the field as he told Gardner: "I haven't touched it!".

An equally stunned Liam Williams and Josh Adams also joined in with the protests and called for the TMO to intervene. But following an exchange with his touch judge, Gardner stuck to his guns and Jones was dismissed from the field of play for the second successive game.

Jamie Roberts, commentating for Sky Sports, wasn't impressed with the decision as he remarked: "That's a pretty poor call, isn't it? I don't think they got that one right."

But despite the outrage that followed, Gardner was later proved right when another camera angle showed the incident in a new light, with Jones clearly moving the ball in the ruck despite telling the referee the opposite.

However, the official has also experienced making the wrong call and admitted he should have penalised Owen Farrell during England's win over South Africa in 2018, when the fly-half escaped punishment for a no-arms hit on Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen.

Speaking about the incident on Will Greenwood's podcast on Sky Sports, Gardner admitted he may have made the wrong decision in not penalising Farrell, explaining: "I think in hindsight now, having discussed it with some other referees... I think the general consensus would be that a penalty was probably the outcome there that should have been given".

He added: "I think we need to see a wrap with both arms, and I think in hindsight - although he got pinned - there wasn't a big enough wrap from both arms, really. There was a wrap with one arm, but there wasn't a wrap with the other arm.

"Of the angles that I was showed in the stadium at the time, that seemed to me to be enough of a wrap for me to constitute a legal tackle It was never high, and so all we were looking at was the tackle technique. The collision itself also kind of swayed my decision because it was a big rugby collision, and we see these hits in the game."

Who are the Scotland v Italy officials?

Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)

Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (RFU) and Craig Evans (WRU)

TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)

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