Some big games around the world this weekend with Pro14 semi-finals, Europe playoff places, round 25 in France, the final weekend of regular season Gallagher Premiership and mid-season USMLR & Super Rugby. And so it’s the same for referees and their match official teams.
Congrats should go to England’s Adam Leal (pictured in centre) who makes his Premiership debut as he referees Worcester v Saracens. The 30-year-old from Hampshire has been an Assistant Referee in the Premiership for a couple of seasons while honing his whistle skills in the Greene King Championship. In Wales, Ben Whitehouse takes charge of a big European qualifier as Ospreys play the Dragons to decide who gets the final Pro14 European spot next season. In Super Rugby, Argentine, Federico Anselmi (pic on right) is on his travels as he referees the Rebels v the Bulls in Melbourne.
At the other end of the career scale, the weekend could be John Lacey’s final Pro14 match before he retires to take up a role with the IRFU. He’ll be overseeing the Glasgow v Ulster match in the Pro14 semi-final.
Enjoy the weekend!
PRO14 Semifinals
Glasgow Warriors v Ulster
Referee: John Lacey (Ire)
ARs: Andrew Brace (Ire) & George Clancy (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
Leinster v Munster
Referee: Mike Adamson (Sco)
ARs: Lloyd Linton (Sco) & Keith Allen (Sco)
TMO: Neil Paterson (Sco)
Pro14 European Play-off
Ospreys v Scarlets
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
ARs: Nigel Owens (Wales) & Dan Jones (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
Gallagher Premiership – Round 22
Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints
Referee: Karl Dickson (19th Premiership game)
ARs: Luke Pearce & Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: David Rose
Citing Officer: James Hall
Leicester Tigers v Bath
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (63rd Premiership game)
ARs: Ian Tempest & Matthew O’Grady
TMO: Sean Davey
Citing Officer: Grant Seely
Newcastle Falcons v Bristol Bears
Referee: JP Doyle (170th Premiership game)
ARs: Hamish Smales & Andrew Jackson
TMO: David Grashoff
Citing Officer: Andy Blyth
Sale Sharks v Gloucester Rugby
Referee: Wayne Barnes (217th Premiership game)
ARs: John Meredith & Peter Allan
TMO: Keith Lewis
Citing Officer: Shaun Gallagher
Wasps v Harlequins
Referee: Matthew Carley (86th Premiership game)
ARs: Tom Foley & Greg Macdonald
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Citing Officer: Buster White
Worcester Warriors v Saracens
Referee: Adam Leal (1st Premiership game)
ARs: Jack Makepeace & Paul Dix
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Citing Officer: Dave Guyan
Top 14 – Round 25
Agen v Castres Olympique
Referee: Jérôme Garcès
ARs: Julien Castaignède & Jacques De Lemos
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Perpignan v Racing 92
Referee: Laurent Cardona
ARs: Flavien Hourquet Christophe Bats
TMO: Éric Gonthier
Pau v Grenoble
Referee: Jonathan Dufort
ARs: Sébastien Boyer & Christian Coussan
TMO: Akim Hadj Bachir
Lyon v La Rochelle
Referee: Romain Poite
ARs: Adrien Descottes & Laurent Breil
TMO: Denis Grenouillet
Montpellier v Stade Français
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
ARs: Maxime Chalon & tbc
TMO: Patrick Dellac
Bordeaux-Bègles v Stade Toulouse
Referee: Tual Trainini
ARs: Laurent Millotte & Bruno Gabaldon
TMO: Éric Gauzins
Toulon v Clermont
Referee: Vincent Blasco Baqué
ARs: Cédric Marchat & Sébastien Hebert
TMO: Mourad Zitouni
Pro D2 Semifinals
Oyonnax v Bayonne
Referee: Pierre Brousset
ARs: Mathieu Noirot & Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Ludovic Sclafer
Brive v Vannes
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
ARs: Bruno Rousselet & Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Éric Briquet Campin
Super Rugby – Round 14
Hurricanes v Jaguares
Referee: Brendon Pickerill (NZ)
ARs: Mike Fraser (NZ) & Paul Williams (NZ)
TMO: Aaron Paterson (NZ)
Rebels v Bulls
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
ARs: Damon Murphy (Aus) & Aaron Pook (Aus)
TMO: Ian Smith (Aus)
Blues v Chiefs
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZ)
ARs: Nick Briant (NZ) & Dan Waenga (NZ)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)
Reds v Waratahs
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)
ARs: Angus Gardner (Aus) & Damon Murphy (Aus)
TMO: James Leckie (Aus)
Lions v Highlanders
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (SA)
ARs: Jaco Peyper (SA) & Griffin Colby (SA)
TMO: Willie Vos (SA)
Stormers v Crusaders
Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)
ARs: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA) & AJ Jacobs (SA)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)
Major League Rugby – Round 17
New Orleans Gold v Houston Sabercats
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
ARs: Derek Summers & Butch Neuenschwander
Glendale Raptors v Seattle Seawolves
Referee: Elgan Williams (Wales)
ARs: Paul-Henri Courbier & Steve Gore
Rugby United New York v Austin Elite
Referee: Luke Rogan
ARs: Moe Chaudhry & Amelia Luciano
