Who is Wales vs Ireland referee Karl Dickson? Former Harlequins scrum-half officiating at Six Nations
WALES vs Ireland kicks off the Six Nations 2023 with what could be a thriller
The big opener goes down at the Principality Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with a familiar face refereeing the clash.
RexKarl Dickson referees Wales vs Ireland in the Six Nations[/caption]
Who is Karl Dickson?
Karl Dickson was born in Salisbury in 1982.
He began playing rugby at Barnard Castle School before graduating from Coventry University.
He would go on to progress through the academy system of Championship side Bedford Blues, where he made his debut in 2001.
His performances at scrum-half would lead him to capture the attention of Harlequins, who signed him in 2009.
Dickson was normally behind England star Danny Care in the pecking order, but was still lauded by then-Quins Director of Rugby Conor O’Shea as “one of the five best scrum-halves in the country”.
He would go on to make 169 appearances for the West Londoners before retiring in 2017.
Karl Dickson has twin daughters and is the brother of former England and Northampton scrum-half Lee Dickson.
What have been Karl Dickson’s refereeing highlights?
After commencing his qualifications in 2014, Ben Dickson began refereeing in the Premiership in 2017 following his retirement from rugby.
He made his international debut when he took charge of the Autumn International between Georgia and Samoa in Tbilisi in 2018.
And he will be familiar to the France team after making his Tier One debut in their 2020 friendly against Wales, which they won 38-21.
Dickson then went on to referee Ireland’s win over Japan last summer and has now been promoted to the Six Nations.
However, he caused controversy in 2021 after failing to hand former team-mate Kyle Sinckler a yellow card for shouting “Are you f****** serious?” at him during a Harlequins match.
