Who’d be a referee? Andrew Brace on law changes, death threats and having the best seat in the house

Continuing the Left Wing’s countdown to the opening weekend of the Six Nations, Sinéad Kissane caught up with referee Andrew Brace. Andrew has been referring for the last decade, he grew up in Cardiff and has been living in Limerick for the past 13 years. And for this Six Nations, he’ll referee Scotland against Wales in Murrayfield in round 2 which will actually have an all-IRFU match official line-up for the first time in 20 years. It’s also a good time to talk to a referee because there’s been a bit of debate around issues like the officiating of the high tackle recently and Sinéad gets into that with Andrew and he also talks about the other hot issues that referees will be looking out for in this championship. He also goes into the horrific social media abuse that he and his family were subjected to in the past and the impact that had on him. This Six Nations is also a big one for referees because they too want to make the cut for the World Cup later this year. Don’t forget to join Will and Luke for their weekly analysis on Wednesday, Rúaidhrí O’Connor and Sinéad will be back on Thursday with the latest from the Algarve on Andy Farrell’s team announcement, while Sinéad will be at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel in Wales. On Friday you’ll hear the view from Wales on their chances against Ireland, whilst on Saturday, just after the final whistle, catch up with Sinéad, Cian and Rúaidhrí for their post-match analysis. If you want to get in touch with the show, email your questions and comments to [email protected], or on Twitter @SinéadKissane @SlatteryWill @lukefitz11 @RuaidhriOC and @CianTracey1.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.