The highlight of this week’s referee appointments comes in the form of World Rugby Referee of the Year, Joy Neville who becomes the first female to take charge of a men’s match at this level. She’ll be at the Stade Chaban Delmas to oversee the Challenge Cup fixture between Bordeaux-Bègles and the Russian side, Enisei on Friday night (15th).
Elsewhere, fellow Irish referee, John Lacey is injured which has caused a slight reshuffle in some of the European fixtures. His match at Clermont will now be refereed by Andrew Brace, and Romain Poite officiates the game Brace was due to whistle in Italy, as Benetton Treviso take on the Scarlets.
Congratulations to Joy on another milestone appointment, and to all the other officials on duty this weekend!
European Champions Cup, Round 4
Bath v Toulon
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
ARs: Ian Davies (Wales) & Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Benetton v Scarlets
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
ARs: Mark Patton (Ireland) & Richard Kerr (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Ospreys v Northampton Saints
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Manuel Bottino (Italy) & Matteo Liperini (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)
Clermont v Saracens
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
ARs: Nigel Correll (Ireland) & John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Ulster v Harlequins
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
ARs: Ludovic Cayre (France) & Cédric Clave (France)
TMO: Éric Briquet-Campin (France)
Wasps v La Rochelle
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
ARs: Eddie Hogan-O’Connell (Ireland) & Jonathan Peak (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Leicester Tigers v Munster
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
ARs: Tual Trainini (France) & Mathieu Noirot (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Racing v Castres
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
ARs: Matthew Carley (England) & Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Montpellier v Glasgow Warriors
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
ARs: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England) & Simon McConnell (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Leinster v Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
ARs: Maxime Chalon (France) & Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Éric Gauzins (France)
European Challenge Cup, Round 4
Dragons v Newcastle Falcons
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
ARs: Ben Blain (Scotland) & Finlay Brown (Scotland)
London Irish v Stade Français
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
ARs: Dan Jones (Wales) & Craig Evans (Wales)
Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks
Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)
ARs: Sébastien Minery (France) & Arnaud Blondel (France)
TMO: Éric Gonthier (France)
Pau v Agen
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
ARs: Frank Murphy (Ireland) & Chris Harrington (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Bordeaux-Bègles v Enisei
Referee: Joy Neville (Ireland)
ARs: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland) & Shane Kierans (Ireland)
Edinburgh v Krasny Yar
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
ARs: Kieran Barry (Ireland) & Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
Oyonnax v Worcester Warriors
Referee: Vlad Iordachescu (Romania)
ARs: Alexandru Ionescu (Romania) & Madalin Girbau (Romania)
Gloucester v Zebre
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
ARs: Adrien Descottes (France) & Éric Soulan (France)
Connacht v Brive
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
ARs: Sara Cox (England) & Jonathan Healy (England)
Lyon v Toulouse
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
ARs: Tom Foley (England) & Jack Makepeace (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
British & Irish Cup, Round 4
Bedford Blues v Munster A
Referee: Elgan Williams (Wales)
ARs: Matthew Daubney (England) & Simon Park (England)
Ospreys Select v Nottingham
Referee: Robert O’Sullivan (Ireland)
ARs: Jason Bessant (Wales) & Nathan Davies (Wales)
Cardiff Blues Select v Doncaster Knights
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
ARs: Ben Breakspear (Wales) & Steffan Edwards (Wales)
Dragons Select v Yorkshire Carnegie
Referee: Jonny Erskine (Ireland)
ARs: Robert Price (Wales) & Ben Porte (Wales)
Cornish Pirates v Scarlets Select
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
ARs: Simon Adams (England) & Brian Ravenhill (England)
Connacht Eagles v Richmond
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
ARs: Karol Collins (Ireland) & Daithi Flood (Ireland)
Ulster Ravens v Hartpury
Referee: Hamish Smales (England)
ARs: Daniel Carson (Ireland) & Rob Watson (Ireland)
Leinster Lions v Bristol
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
ARs: Cillian Hogan, (Ireland) Helen O’Reilly (Ireland)
London Scottish v Jersey Reds
Referee: Fergus Kirby (England)
ARs: Robert Warburton (England) & Ian Bibey (England)
Ealing Trailfinders v Rotherham Titans
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
ARs: Darryl Chapman (England) & Bill Burton (England)
