RFU referee Wayne Barnes makes his return to Aviva Premiership action this weekend after his quiet weekend in Paris last time out…
This week, he’ll be hoping for a calmer offering, but he may not get it as he takes charge of the huge third v fourth clash between defending champions Saracens and Bath. This match marks his 180th Premiership outing. Elsewhere, JP Doyle will take charge of a West Country derby on Friday night as Bristol take on local rivals Gloucester.
Greg Garner has been awarded perhaps the most hotly-contested game this weekend, as rivals Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers square up on Saturday in what will be coach Aaron Maugers final match as coach of the Tigers ahead of Matt O’Connors return.
Looking to the west, Mike Frazer of New Zealand heads to Buenos Aires to look after the Jaguares v Queensland Reds tie up in Super Rugby round 5. Recent ex-pro, the Australian Nic Berry continues his refereeing progression heading to Aukland taking the Blues v Bulls match.
In Italy, Nigel Owens looks after the Guiness PRO12 leader-chasers Ospreys who take on Benetton Treviso. Marius Mitrea (right) will be looking after the current leaders, Leinster who host Cardiff Blues while third place Munster are also in Italy with Sean Gallagher looking after the Zebre v Munster tie.
Aviva Premiership
Bristol Rugby v Gloucester Rugby
Referee: JP Doyle (128th Premiership game)
ARs: Jack Makepeace & Ross Campbell
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Harlequins v Newcastle Falcons
Referee: Tom Foley (33rd Premiership game)
ARs: Hamish Smales & Adam Leal
TMO: Keith Lewis
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Referee: Greg Garner (113th Premiership game)
ARs: Andrew Jackson & Roy Maybank
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Exeter Chiefs v Sale Sharks
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (32nd Premiership game)
ARs: Anthony Woodthorpe & Paul Burton
TMO: Geoff Warren
Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Referee: Luke Pearce (57th Premiership game)
ARs: Ian Tempest & Simon McConnell
TMO: David Grashoff
Saracens v Bath Rugby
Referee: Wayne Barnes (180th Premiership game)
ARs: Tom Foley & Paul Dix
TMO: Graham Hughes
Super Rugby, Round 5
Melbourne Rebels v NSW Waratahs
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
ARs: Glen Jackson (NZ), Jordan Way (Aus)
TMO: George Ayoub (Aus)
Crusaders v Western Force
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Aus)
ARs: Richard Kelly (NZ), Angus Mabey (NZ)
TMO: Shane McDermott (NZ)
Cheetahs v Sharks
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SA)
ARs: Jaco van Heerden (SA), Lourens van der Merwe (SA)
TMO: Johan Greeff (SA)
Brumbies v Highlanders
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)
ARs: Angus Gardner (Aus), James Leckie (Aus)
TMO: Ian Smith (Aus)
Sunwolves v Stormers
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Arg)
ARs: Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Aki Aso (Japan)
TMO: Minoru Fuji (Japan)
Kings v Lions
Referee: Quinton Immelman (SA)
ARs: Rasta Rasivhenge (SA), Egon Seconds (SA)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (SA)
Blues v Bulls
Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)
ARs: William Houston (Aus), Nick Briant (NZ)
TMO: Ben Skeen (NZ)
Jaguares v Queensland Reds
Referee: Mike Fraser (NZ)
ARs: Jamie Nutbrown (NZ), Damian Schneider (Arg)
TMO: Santiago Borsani (Arg)
PRO 12, Round 18
Scarlets v Edinburgh
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
ARs: Gary Conway (Ireland), Wayne Davies
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Zebre v Munster
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
ARs: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Elia Rizzo (Italy)
Leinster v Cardiff Blues
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
ARs: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Richard Kerr (Ireland)
Benetton Treviso v Ospreys
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
ARs: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
TMO : Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Newport Gwent Dragons v Ulster
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
ARs: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Dan Jones (Wales)
TMO : Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Glasgow Warriors v Connacht
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
ARs: Sean Brickell (Wales), Bob Nevins (Scotland)
