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Ben James

Who is Wales v Scotland referee Nic Berry, the man left devastated by Lions storm

Having struggled to get to grips with Jaco Peyper's officiating last time out in Ireland, it's vital that Wales fare better with Nic Berry as they host Scotland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac's men desperately need to get back to winning ways after defeat in Dublin if they're to stand any chance of retaining their title.

But what can they and the Cardiff crowd expect from Berry's officiating.

We take a closer look at the man in the middle.

You can follow the Wales v Scotland game live here now.

Scrum-half turned ref

He was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1984 and enjoyed a decent playing career as a scrum-half, turning out for Queensland Reds, Racing Metro and Wasps.

Though never called up for Australia, he represented the Wallabies at age-grade level and played for the Prime Minister's XV against Japan in 2006.

However, he was forced to retire from the professional game at the age of 28 in 2013 after a series of concussions.

Just three years after finishing, Berry made his Super Rugby debut as an official. He was also one of the referees at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

What happened in South Africa?

Of course, it's unfortunate that the reason many know Berry's name is because of last year's Lions tour - when he was caught in the middle of a bizarre storm brought about by Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus.

He took charge of the First Test between South Africa and the Lions in Cape Town in July 2021 - but his performance provoked fury from the Boks' team and coaching staff.

Berry was accused by the Springboks of treating their captain Siya Kolisi differently to Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones.

However, things would get worse when Erasmus produced an hour-long video documenting every decision he believed Berry to have got wrong.

The video saw Erasmus hit with a two-month ban from all rugby for misconduct, while he was also ordered to apologise to Berry.

In his testimony to World Rugby, Berry blasted Erasmus for carrying out a character assassination.

"Needless to say, the whole situation has been an extremely difficult time for my family and me," he said.

“As a match official, I understand that our performances will be heavily scrutinised, especially in such a prestigious tournament.

"However, the public attack on my integrity and character is not something that should be tolerated in any workplace.

"I considered officiating a Lions tour comparable with a World Cup. The appointment is an honour which few achieve.

"However, due to the actions of Mr Erasmus, my family and I have endured a significant amount of distress and we will only have negative memories of the whole experience.

“I feel that Mr Erasmus engaged in a character assassination of me on social media.

"I have spent many years trying to build my reputation as an international referee and in the course of his video which was posted online, Mr Erasmus has caused it immeasurable damage.

“Though a small proportion of the rugby community will follow the outcome of this matter, and in the process obtain an accurate account of what really occurred, the wider rugby community will only be aware of me in the context of this incident.

"I feel that regardless of the outcome and any sanctions imposed, my reputation as a referee and person will be tarnished.

“Throughout Mr Erasmus’ video, he makes unsubstantiated claims about the incidents that occurred in the 72 hours after the first Test match which I refereed.

“I felt that Mr Erasmus’ video brought into question my professionalism and my integrity as a match official and that there was an inference to be drawn that I was in some way cheating as an official, which is obviously completely untrue.

“His actions are against everything our game stands for and I feel it is important to take a stand against such behaviour.

"I sincerely hope that the outcome of the independent judicial hearing will set a precedent to discourage similar behaviour in the future so that no person has to experience what I have these past few weeks.”

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