A weekend of starts and ends – with some in the middle! At the start of their season we have Irish referee George Clancy officiating the season opener of the Pro14 (barely a month since last season’s finale!) and in Malaysia play returns in their top league. We also have a South African Green v Gold showdown which will be overseen by Jaco Peyper.
In England, the big guns are at Saracens – their final game in the Premiership following their automatic relegation for off-field irregularities. There’s a lot of pride at stake as many players will be away from our screens for a year or so. Wayne Barnes will be managing. the emotions, assisted by Paul Dix and Craig-Maxwell Keys with Luke Pearce in the truck. It’s the final weekend of the regular season before the play offs over the next few weeks. In France and New Zealand, we have the season continuing, although in France some Top 14 fixtures are in doubt as covid outbreaks continue in various squads. Congrats to Jono Bredin (bottom left of pic) who takes charge of his first Mitre 10 Cup match in Southland
Enjoy your weekends
Keith
South Africa
Green vs Gold
Referee: Jaco Peyper
ARs: Marius van der Westhuizen & Rasta Rasivhenge
TMO: Joey Klaaste-Salmans
England – Gallagher Premiership – round 22
Gloucester Rugby v Northampton Saints
Referee: Jack Makepeace
ARs: John Meredith & Simon McConnell
TMO: Keith Lewis
Leicester Tigers v Harlequins
Referee: Matthew Carley
ARs: Mike Hudson & Gareth Hoslgrove
TMO: David Grashoff
London Irish v Bristol Bears
Referee: Karl Dickson
ARs: Adam Leal & Simon Harding
TMO: Nigel Carrick
Sale Sharks v Worcester Warriors
Referee: Ian Tempest
ARs: Neil Chivers & Wayne Falla
TMO: Andrew Jackson
Saracens v Bath Rugby
Referee: Wayne Barnes
ARs: Craig Maxwell-Keys & Paul Dix
TMO: Luke Pearce
Wasps v Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Tom Foley
ARs: Hamish Smales & Jonathan Healy
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Pro14 – Round 1
Zebre Rugby v Cardiff Blues
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU, 124th competition game)
ARs: Federico Vedovelli (FIR) & Riccardo Angelucci (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Ulster v Benetton
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 3rd competition game)
ARs: Sean Gallagher (IRFU) & Robert O’Sullivan (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Leinster v Dragons
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 7th competition game)
ARs: Frank Murphy & Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
Scarlets v Munster
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 8th competition game)
ARs: Nigel Owens (WRU) & Dan Jones (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Connacht v Glasgow Warriors
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 11th competition game)
ARs: Sean Gallagher (IRFU) & Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Edinburgh v Ospreys
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 66th competition game)
ARs: Ben Blain & Keith Allen (both SRU)
TMO: Andy McMenemy (SRU)
Top 14 – Round 3
CA Brive v Section Paloise
Referee: Pierre Brousset
ARs: A.Descottes & M.Gharbi tarchouna
TMO: M.Zitouni
Stade Français v Bayonne
Referee: Vivien Praderie
ARs: A.Ruiz & P.Milani
TMO: A.Hadj bachir
ASM Clermont v SU Agen
Referee: Pierre Nuchy
ARs: P.Gauzere & R.Duhau
TMO: L.Cardona
La Rochelle v Racing 92
Referee: Cedric Marchat
ARs: S.Minery & C.Coussan
TMO: T.Trainini
Montpellier v Castres
Referee: Romain Poite
ARs: V.Blasco baque & S.Jaymes
TMO: E. Briquet-Campin
Toulouse v RC Toulon
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
ARs: M.Chalon & C.Bats
TMO: C.Lafon
Pau v Bordeaux-Bègles
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
ARs: T.Charabas & A.Descottes
TMO: P.Brousset
Mitre 10 Cup – Round 4
Bay of Plenty v Auckland
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
ARs: Nick Briant & Sam Fellows
Counties Manukau v Manawatu
Referee: Mike Fraser
ARs: Brandon Roberts & Robert Shore
Northland v Taranaki
Referee: Angus Mabey
ARs: Boris Jurlina & Jaco Cronje
Canterbury v Wellington
Referee: Paul Williams
ARs: TBC
North Harbour v Tasman
Referee: Nick Briant
ARs: Kyle Lagerwall & Scott McKenzie
Southland v Waikato
Referee: Jono Bredin
ARs: TBC
Otago v Hawke’s Bay (RS)
Referee: Cam Stone
ARs: TBC
Farah Palmer Cup – Week 5
Northland Kauri v North Harbour Hibiscus
Referee: Tiana Ngawati
ARs: Nathan Chestnut & Marcus Tomlinson
Auckland Storm v Bay of Plenty Volcanix
Referee: Becs Mahoney
ARs: TBC
Waikato v Counties Manukau Heat
Referee: Brittany Andrew
ARs: Josh Bull & Ben Brownlie
Canterbury v Wellington Pride (JJ Stewart Trophy)
Referee: Lauren Jenner
ARs: TBC
Tasman Mako v Hawke’s Bay Tui
Referee: Larissa Collingwood
ARs: Kane Hames & Aidan Barnett
Otago Spirit v Manawatu Cyclones
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr
ARs: TBC
Malaysia – Putrajaya League
KKB Armourdillo v KL Saracens
Referee: Muhd Badrul Hisham
ARs: Mohd Alif Muhaimin & Nasrey Othaman
SAAS Woriyo v Kajang Rams
Referee: Tengku Mohd Fariz
ARs: Firdaus Ghani & Amirul Rashid
Rioba v ASAS RC
Referee: Muhd Alif Iman
ARs: Huzaifah Saidin & Muhd Zulfirdaus
Qubyx Lions v MIAT Falcons
Referee: Azizul Johari
ARs: Hadzly Ismail & Muhd Amiruddin
