With a host of Wallabies have made Japan home, two of Australia's elite referees have joined them as they ramp up preparations ahead of the Six Nations.
This saw Nic Berry and Angus Gardner referee games in Rugby League One , continuing their relationship with Japan, having been part of the refereeing team at Rugby World Cup 2019.
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Berry took charge during Toshiba Brave Lupus' 63-25 over Toyota Verblitz while Angus Gardiner oversaw Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars' 27-all draw with Shizuoka Blue Revs.
Both referees were invited to Japan by League One to officiate the matches as part of ongoing efforts within the league to develop the level of refereeing, before heading to Europe to officiate at the Six Nations.
“It was great to have Nic and Angus back in Japan, officiating at two League One fixtures," Hajime Shoji, Chief Operating Officer of Japan Rugby League One said.
"Our league is on a journey to become world-class and a major part of this is the development of world-class match officials. Both referees put in a solid performance, resulting in two highly entertaining, fast flowing matches.
"Their input and mentoring will have a lasting impact on helping us raise the standard of our local referees. On behalf of JRLO I would like to express our sincere appreciation to both Nic and Angus, and to Rugby Australia for their ongoing support of Japanese Rugby.”
Berry will serve as an assistant referee during Italy's clash with France on February 5 before taking control of France v Wales on March 18.
Meanwhile, Gardner will be on the sidelines for the Six Nations' opener between Wales v Ireland, taking the whistle during Scotland's match with Ireland on March 18.
“League One is a very exciting, fast, high-octane, entertaining competition with some fantastic world-class players playing for professional and extremely well-run teams," Gardner said ahead of last weekend's match.
"For us to come up and referee here in such a great competition is very exciting for the both of us and were looking forward to the matches on Sunday.
“Getting the opportunity to come to Japan and work with some of the Japanese referees is a great opportunity for us both, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility.
"We want to make sure that we put in a good performance, one that’s worthy of such a great competition. We want to show the local referees what it’s like for us in terms of our preparation and review process, and of course the execution, which will be all about doing a good job on Sunday.”
