It’s a gap weekend in The Rugby Championship so focus turns to the start of the northern domestic leagues in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Italy. In the Pro14, Nigel Owens (pictured in photo on the left) kicks things off in Cardiff as the Blues host Leinster – that will be his 167th referee appointment in the versions of that league over the years.
In England, the newly re-sponsored Gallagher Premiership (formerly Aviva) starts in Bristol as the promoted side (rebranded into the Bristol Bears) host local rivals Bath. The vastly experienced JP Doyle starts the Premiership campaign off. He’ll be followed on Saturday by Wayne Barnes, Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson, Craig Maxwell-Keys and then Ian Tempest in Sunday’s match which sees Newcastle host champions Saracens. The RFU’s Head of the Professional Game Match Officials, Tony Spreadbury has spoken out [gated content] about the needs for players to uphold the values of the game so it will be interesting to see how his top team deal with reality of that without it appearing to be some for of crusade.
Elsewhere we see round 1 matches in the Australian National Rugby Championship refereed by Damon Murphy, Nic Berry and Jordan Way. And the Currie Cup continues in South Africa as Jaco Peyper, Rasta Rasivhenge and Marius van der Westhuizen all turn out in Premier level matches.
Wherever you’re whistling or watching this weekend, enjoy the rugby!
Guinness Pro14 – round 1
Cardiff Blues v Leinster
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 167th Championship game)
ARs: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) & AR2: Gwyn Morris (WRU)
TMO: Jon Mason (WRU)
Ospreys v Edinburgh
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU, 71st Championship game)
ARs: Sean Gallagher (IRFU) & Wayne Davies (WRU)
TMO: Tim Hayes (WRU)
Zebra v Southern Kings
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 22nd Championship game)
ARs: Keith Allen (SRU) & Manuel Bottini (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Connacht v Glasgow Warriors
Referee: Ian Davies (WRU, 73rd Championship game)
ARs: Adam Jones (WRU) & Eddie Hogan-O’Connell (IRFU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Ulster v Scarlets
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 79th Championship game)
ARs: Andrea Piardi (FIR) & John Carvill (IRFU)
TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)
Munster v Cheetahs
Referee: Dan Jones (WRU, 15th championship game)
ARs: Craig Evans (WRU) & Mark Patton (IRFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
Dragons v Benetton
Referee: George Clancy (103rd Championship game)
ARs: Frank Murphy (IRFU) & Simon Rees (WRU).
TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)
Gallagher Premiership – Round 1
Bristol Bears v Bath
Referee: JP Doyle (154th Premiership game)
ARs: Adam Leal & Wayne Falla
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Gloucester v Northampton Saints
Referee: Matthew Carley (75th Premiership game)
ARs: Jack Makepeace & Greg Macdonald
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Harlequins v Sale Sharks
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (52nd Premiership game)
ARs: Simon McConnell & Roy Maybank
TMO: David Grashoff
Worcester Warriors v Wasps
Referee: Karl Dickson (7th Premiership game)
ARs: Peter Allan & Philip Watters
TMO: Stuart Terheege.
Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers
Referee: Wayne Barnes (201st Premiership game)
ARs: Paul Dix and Anthony Woodthorpe
TMO: David Rose
Newcastle Falcons v Saracens
Referee: Ian Tempest (47th Premiership game)
ARs: Tim Wigglesworth and John Meredith
TMO: Sean Davey
Australia National Rugby Championship
Fiji Druas v Melbourne Rising
Referee: Damon Murphy
ARs: Tevita Rokovereni & Josaia Caucau
Canberra Vikings v Queensland Country
Referee: Nic Berry
ARs: Brodie Ingram & Reuben Keane
TMO: James Hagan
Brisbane City v Western Force
Referee: Jordan Way
ARs: Aaron Pook & Shane Barr
TMO: Brett
South Africa Currie Cup
Premier Division Round 3 fixtures:
iCOLLEGE Pumas v DHL Western Province
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
ARs: Des van Wyk and Alex Jonker
TMO: Christie du Preez
Toyota Free State Cheetahs v Cell C Sharks
Referee: Jaco Peyper
ARs: Ben Crouse and Divan Uys
TMO: Lourens van der Merwe
Vodacom Blue Bulls v Xerox Golden Lions
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
ARs: Jaco Pretorius and Ricus van der Hoven
TMO: Willie Vos
First Division Round 2 fixtures:
Leopards v Boland Cavaliers
Referee: Ruhan Meiring
ARs: Jaco Pretorius and local appointment
Border Bulldogs v SWD Eagles
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
ARs: Bulelani Naka and local appointment
Down Touch Griffons v Hino Valke
Referee: Egon Seconds
ARs: AJ Jacobs and local appointment
Top 14 Rugby – France – Round 2
Pau v Toulon
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
ARs: Jonathan Dufort & Éric Soulan
TMO: Éric Gauzins
Castres v Lyon
Referee: Adrien Descottes
ARs: Maxime Chalon & Frédéric Chazal
TMO: Éric Gonthier
Stade Français v Bordeaux-Bègles
Referee: Vincent Blasco Baque
ARs: Pierre Brousset & Laurent Breil
TMO: Cédric Marchat
Montpellier v La Rochelle
Referee: Thomas Charabas
ARs: Laurent Millotte & Sébastien Hebert
TMO: Akim Hadj Bachir
Grenoble v Toulouse
Referee: Cyrille Lafon
ARs: Mathieu Delpy & Richard Duhau
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Racing 92 vs Clermont
Referee: Jérôme Garcès
ARs: Laurent Cardona & Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Sébastien Minery
