Wales v South Africa referee Karl Dickson stunned Jac Morgan as pundits were left outraged
The Englishman is the man in the middle as Warren Gatland’s side host the Springboks in Cardiff
Wales face an almighty task if they are to break their torrid losing run as they face South Africa in Cardiff this weekend.
After a record 11 successive Test match losses, Warren Gatland’s side have reached a new all-time low and pundits have given them little hope of turning things around against the world champions, who have already seen off Scotland and England this autumn.
Another defeat would see Wales finish a calendar year without a Test win for the first time since 1937.
It is also a match that some have predicted could be Gatland’s last as head coach, but the man himself has cut a defiant figure and insisted he wants to stay on in the role, with assistant Rob Howley also confident that the New Zealander won’t leave.
With pride on the line for Wales, it is sure to be a lively match with Englishman Karl Dickson tasked with keeping a lid on proceedings. A man who is no stranger to controversy when it comes to taking charge of Wales, here’s everything you need to know about today’s referee.
Who is Karl Dickson?
Born in Salisbury in 1982, Dickson was a scrum-half during his playing days making more than 100 appearances for Bedford Blues and 169 outings for Harlequins.
The Quins’ director of rugby Conor O’Shea claimed he was “among the best five scrum-halves in the country” during his time at the club and he was called up by England during the 2012 Six Nations but was never capped.
After retiring in 2017, he joined the RFU’s match officials team, having begun his refereeing qualifications three years earlier. He took charge of schools matches, as well as local and national league clubs, before refereeing A-League and Premiership games.
He made his international debut as a referee when he took charge of Georgia v Samoa in 2018, before making his first Tier One appearance in a 2020 friendly between France and Wales.
Dickson was promoted to the Six Nations in 2022, once again officiating Les Bleus in their 36-17 win over Scotland, while he was part of the refereeing pool for last year’s World Cup in France
Wales stars left stunned
Dickson found himself at the centre of controversy when officiating Wales at last year’s World Cup and sparked outrage as Warren Gatland’s side crashed out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage.
The Englishman had not expected to find himself in the middle for the knockout clash but was called into replace referee Jaco Peyper in the first half after the South African official injured his calf.
But one of Dickson’s decisions later in the match infuriated Welsh supporters and pundits and left the players on the pitch stunned as their World Cup exit was confirmed just minutes later.
With just over 15 minutes of the match remaining, Wales were 17-12 up against Argentina when Los Pumas star Guido Petti crashed into centre Nick Tompkins at a ruck five metres from the Welsh try line.
It appeared to be a straight shoulder to the head of Tompkins, but Dickson decided no foul play had occurred after liaising with his TMO Marius Jonker.
“On the field at the moment we’re looking at no foul play,” the referee was heard saying. “The player gets released and the red player falls significantly. No foul play for me. As he goes down, the blue player comes in to make a legal clear.” TMO Jonker then replied: “I’m with you on this.”
Wales captain Jac Morgan looked baffled as Dickson relayed his decision. But when Morgan challenged the call, the referee promptly hit back “Every contact isn’t foul play”.
But former Wales stars in the commentary box sided with Morgan, as ex-fly-half James Hook said: “That’s straight in the jaw – that’s a straight red card for me! Where is the mitigation there?”.
Meanwhile, Nicky Robinson remarked: “Wow! Nothing wrong with that? Wow. Wales have lost their best defender when they’re five metres from their own line and this is a problem.
Former Wales wing Caryl James said: “I say red!,” while ex-England scrum-half Matt Dawson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What was Petti thinking? If I was new to the game I would be in a world of confusion.”
Tompkins was then forced to leave the field for a HIA, with fly-half Sam Costelow coming on to replace him in midfield. But just three minutes after the Saracens star left the field, Argentina scored to go into a two-point lead, while an interception try from Nicolas Sanchez then sealed their fate.
It wasn’t the first time during that tournament that Dickson had caused controversy while refereeing Wales, however, as his decision to show Portugal’s Vincent Pinto a red card during their pool match was also widely questioned.
Pinto was initially yellow-carded after catching Josh Adams in the face with his boot as he leapt to take a catch in the 76th minute. But the decision was then upgraded to a red in what was almost the final act of the contest, which Wales won 28-8, leaving Pinto distraught.
While some pundits agreed that it was a reckless and dangerous act, others felt it was the wrong call, with former England international Andy Goode describing it as “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen”.
Former Wales fly-half James Hook also weighed in, posting: “Hats off to Portugal, they came to play. Disagree with Pinto red card, what’s he supposed to do?”
Flag gaffe and ITV statement
In a tournament full of controversy, Dickson had found himself at the heart of more in the opening game of last year’s World Cup.
The Englishman was working as an assistant referee for the curtain raiser between France and New Zealand, but an error on his part forced match broadcasters ITV to issue a statement after the full-time whistle.
With the game at the death and tournament hosts France looking to put the icing on the cake of a famous win, full-back Melvyn Jaminet lined up to convert his own score. But while the kick flew above the sticks, whether it had sailed through them was not immediately obvious, with one touch judge sticking his flag up to indicate a score and the other leaving theirs down.
Dickson was the one that had deemed it a successful kick, but after the match ended, ITV and World Rugby were forced to quickly clarify the scoreline, with the conversion actually unsuccessful.
Presenter Mark Pougatch told viewers: “For the accuracy of your World Cup wall chart, actually the final score was 27-13. There was a debate about whether the final conversion went over. One touch judge put his flag up, one didn’t.
“It has now been confirmed it didn’t go over. Jaminet thought he had converted his own try but it has been confirmed it didn’t so it is not France’s biggest win over New Zealand.”
