The officials for Connacht’s remaining games in the champions’ cup have been revealed. Tom Foley of England will referee the game between Connacht and Zebre in the Sportsground on January 14th while Wayne Barnes of England will referee the game between Toulouse and Connacht in Toulouse the following Sunday January 22nd.
The key qualification matches at the conclusion of the pool stage of the Champions Cup will kick off on Friday, 13 January with the clash of Pool 4 leaders, Leinster Rugby, and last season’s Challenge Cup winners, Montpellier, which will be refereed by England’s JP Doyle.
Doyle is among the referee appointments for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Round 5 and 6 fixtures which have been selected by a committee chaired by Joel Jutge, EPCR’s Head of Match Officials.
Click here for the referee appointments for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2016/17 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup
John Lacey of Ireland will be in charge of another crunch Round 5 tie when Wasps host Toulouse at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, 14 January, while England’s Luke Pearce will be in the middle when Pool 1 front-runners Glasgow Warriors take on Munster Rugby at Scotstoun Stadium later the same day.
ASM Clermont Auvergne, who lead the way in Pool 5, meet Bordeaux-Bègles on Sunday, 15 January at Stade Chaban-Delmas where Nigel Owens of Wales will be in charge, and on the same day, France’s Jerome Garces has been appointed for the Pool 3 match between Scarlets and unbeaten Saracens at Parc y Scarlets.
The last coveted places in the knockout stage will be decided when Round 6 comes to a close on Sunday, 22 January with the matches between Zebre Rugby and Wasps, and Toulouse and Connacht Rugby, which will be refereed by Ireland’s David Wilkinson and Wayne Barnes of England respectively.
European club rugby takes centre stage again on Saturday, 7 January with the rescheduled Champions Cup fixture between Racing 92 and Munster at Stade Yves-du-Manoir where England’s Matthew Carley will be in charge.
The Challenge Cup, Round 5 matches get under way on Thursday, 12 January at Stade Jean Dauger with the tie between Bayonne and Pool 1 leaders, La Rochelle, which will be refereed by Dudley Phillips of Ireland.
The culmination of this season’s epic European journey will take place in Edinburgh when BT Murrayfield hosts the 2017 Challenge Cup, Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition and Champions Cup finals on 12 and 13 May next.