THE referee for this afternoon’s clash between England and Australia was once stabbed in the leg following a ferocious match in his homeland.
Georgian Nika Amashukeli, who will be the man in the middle at Twickenham, has battled through adversity to become of rugby union‘s top officials.
The 31-year-old was a promising young player himself and represented his country at Under-18 level.
A string of injuries saw him turn to officiating instead, however, with knee, ankle and a series of concussion problems prompting him to call it a day.
In 2016 he suffered arguably his most serious injury of all while refereeing a Georgian top flight match between Batumi and RC Army Tbilisi.
Chaos descended after the latter pinched a draw late on – leading to Amashukeli being seriously hurt.
Recounting the harrowing incident in 2023, Amashukeli told the Telegraph: “There was no official timekeeping – referees controlled the time.
“I said to one of the team captains that four minutes were remaining but he misheard me and thought I’d said two minutes.
“They kicked the ball out after two minutes but I didn’t end the game – as there were two minutes left. Then the other team caught the line-out, won a penalty, and kicked it to draw the match.
“The home team exploded and accused me of cheating. When the supporters saw their players getting emotional and throwing their hands up in the air, they became very emotional and started swearing.”
Amashukeli, who was just 22 when the incident occurred, added: “It was an emotional match. After I left the pitch, there was a lot of abuse and swearing and the supporters followed.
“There was a big scuffle but the adrenaline was rushing through me. Someone had a knife.
“Suddenly, I felt something in my leg. I looked down, blood was pouring out. I had been stabbed.”
Amashukeli considered hanging up his whistle as he recovered from the “shameful” incident – but decided that his “passion and love” for the sport would see him continue.
It has proven to be a good decision, and he fulfilled his dream of officiating at the Rugby World Cup two years ago.
He took charge of three games, including England’s triumph over Japan.
In May this year he also refereed the European Rugby Champions Cup final at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium.
Today he will be in charge as England face Australia for the Ella-Mobbs Trophy.
Steve Borthwick‘s men will be looking to reclaim the bragging rights, having lost to Australia last November.
The Wallabies prevailed 42-37 at Twickenham last time out thanks to a late try by Max Jorgensen.
