Referees for Europe's rounds 3 & 4
The Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup are back in action for the second weekend of December, and the European Rugby Cup (ERC) has announced the referees for these matches Europe is , after all, in the middle of its season and referees need to be on their toes.
The appointments are made by a committee made up of the ERC's referee boss, Donal Courtney as convener and the referee managers of the Six Nations.
In announcing the appointments, Courtney said the importance of the refereeing of key areas such as sealing off at the tackle, offside at rucks and kicks, and obstruction at line-out mauls had been reiterated to the participating clubs and to the referees.
Courtney also emphasised that ERC continued to provide an opportunity for club coaching staff to share their feedback on the performances of match officials and that this feedback was an important part of the review process upon which appointments were based.
Round 3 will be played from the 6 December, Round 4 from 13 December.
Appointments
Heineken Cup
Round 3
Glasgow Warriors vs Castres Olympique
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Connacht vs Biarritz Olympique
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Northampton Saints vs Ulster
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Scarlets vs Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Toulouse vs Ospreys
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Zebre vs Harlequins
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Sale Sharks vs Toulon
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Munster vs Saracens
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Racing Metro 92 vs Edinburgh
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Cardiff Blues vs Montpellier
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Leicester Tigers vs Benetton Treviso
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Clermont Auvergne vs Leinster
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Round 4
Edinburgh vs Racing Metro 92
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Biarritz Olympique vs Connacht
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Ospreys vs Toulouse
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Benetton Treviso vs Leicester Tigers
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Harlequins vs Zebre
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Leinster vs Clermont Auvergne
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Exeter Chiefs vs Scarlets
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Ulster vs Northampton Saints
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Montpellier vs Cardiff Blues
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Castres Olympique vs Glasgow Warriors
Referee: Andrew Small (England)
Saracens vs Munster
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Toulon vs Sale Sharks
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Amlin Challenge Cup
Round 3
Worcester Warriors vs Perpignan
Referee: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Bordeaux-Bègles vs Mont-de-Marsan
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Grenoble vs London Welsh
Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Mogliano vs NG Dragons
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
I Cavalieri Prato vs Stade Français
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Bath vs Cammi Calvisano
Referee: Cédric Marchat (France)
London Irish vs Gloucester
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Bucharest Wolves vs Agen
Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
Bizkaia Gernika RT vs VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Bayonne vs London Wasps
Referee: Manus Mitrea (Italy)
Round 4
London Wasps vs Bayonne
Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Stade Français vs I Cavalieri Prato
Referee: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Mont-de-Marsan vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Agen vs Bucharest Wolves
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
London Welsh vs Grenoble
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Cammi Calvisano vs Bath
Referee: Laurent Cardona (France)
Gloucester vs London Irish
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo vs Bizkaia Gernika RT
Referee: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Perpignan vs Worcester Warriors
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Newport Gwent Dragons vs Mogliano
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
