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Irish Referees Receive First European Appointments

Irish Referees Receive First European Appointments

Irish referees will be busy over the opening weekend of action in the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, taking charge of five matches across the continent.

There are round 1 refereeing appointments for John Lacey, Peter Fitzgibbon and George Clancy in the Heineken Cup, while David Wilkinson and Dudley Phillips will have the whistle for opening round fixtures in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

In addition, Leo Colgan will make his Amlin Challenge Cup refereeing debut in round 2, taking charge of the I Cavalieri Prato v London Welsh pool match on Saturday, October 20.

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Colgan, a Garryowen clubman, is a regular on the domestic scene and refereed his first RaboDirect PRO12 game in May 2011 – Benetton Treviso v Edinburgh.

IRFU referees have been to the fore in European rugby’s top competitions for a number of years, with IRFU international referee Alain Rolland (65) and the retired Alan Lewis (71) leading the Heineken Cup referee appearances list.

France’s Pascal Gauzere will be in charge when reigning Heineken Cup champions Leinster get their title defence underway with a home game in Pool 5 against newcomers Exeter Chiefs on Saturday, October 13.

The round 1 clash of last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup winners, Biarritz Olympique, and reigning Aviva Premiership champions Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop will be refereed by George Clancy, while Greg Garner of England takes charge of Racing Metro 92 v Munster at the Stade de France.

Mathieu Raynal of France will referee his first Heineken Cup fixture when Glasgow Warriors host Ulster, the 2012 beaten finalists, at Scotstoun Stadium in round 2.

Meanwhile, Colgan, Ian Tempest (England), Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy) and Ian Davies (Wales) will all be refereeing their first European matches during the opening rounds of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Interested in becoming an IRFU referee? Click here.

HEINEKEN CUP REFEREE APPOINTMENTS:

ROUND 1 –

Friday, October 12

Pool 2: Ospreys v Benetton Treviso, Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Pool 4: Ulster v Castres Olympique, Andrew Small (England)

Saturday, October 13

Pool 1: Edinburgh v Saracens, John Lacey (Ireland)
Pool 1: Racing Metro 92 v Munster, Greg Garner (England)
Pool 3: Zebre v Connacht, Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Pool 5: Leinster v Exeter Chiefs, Pascal Gauzere (France)
Pool 5: Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets, Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Pool 3: Harlequins v Biarritz Olympique, George Clancy (Ireland)

Sunday, October 14

Pool 4: Northampton Saints v Glasgow Warriors, Romain Poite (France)
Pool 6: Sale Sharks v Cardiff Blues, Jerome Garces (France)
Pool 2: Toulouse v Leicester Tigers, Nigel Owens (Wales)
Pool 6: Toulon v Montpellier, Wayne Barnes (England)

ROUND 2 –

Friday, October 19

Pool 4: Glasgow Warriors v Ulster, Mathieu Raynal (France)
Pool 4: Castres Olympique v Northampton Saints, Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Saturday, October 20

Pool 5: Scarlets v Leinster, Greg Garner (England)
Pool 2: Benetton Treviso v Toulouse, Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Pool 1: Saracens v Racing Metro 92, Nigel Owens (Wales)
Pool 3: Connacht v Harlequins, Jerome Garces (France)
Pool 5: Exeter Chiefs v Clermont Auvergne, John Lacey (Ireland)
Pool 3: Biarritz Olympique v Zebre, Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Sunday, October 21

Pool 1: Munster v Edinburgh, Wayne Barnes (England)
Pool 6: Cardiff Blues v Toulon, George Clancy (Ireland)
Pool 2: Leicester Tigers v Ospreys, Romain Poite (France)
Pool 6: Montpellier v Sale Sharks, Neil Paterson (Scotland)

AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP REFEREE APPOINTMENTS:

ROUND 1 –

Thursday, October 11

Pool 1: Mont-de-Marsan v Gloucester, Neil Hennessy (Wales)

Friday, October 12

Pool 5: Grenoble v I Cavalieri Prato, Ian Davies (Wales)
Pool 3: Bayonne v Rugby Mogliano, Ian Tempest (England)

Saturday, October 13

Pool 2: VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo v Perpignan, Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Pool 4: Bucharest Wolves v Bath, Cedric Marchat (France)
Pool 5: London Welsh v Stade Francais, Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Pool 2: Bizkaia Gernika v Worcester Warriors, Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
Pool 4: Cammi Rugby Calvisano v Agen, David Wilikinson (Ireland)
Pool 3: London Wasps v Newport Gwent Dragons, Mathieu Raynal (France)
Pool 1: Bordeaux-Begles v London Irish, Dudley Philips (Ireland)

ROUND 2 –

Thursday, October 18

Pool 1: Gloucester v Bordeaux-Begles, Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Pool 4: Agen v Bath, Neil Hennessy (Wales)

Saturday, October 20

Pool 5: I Cavalieri Prato v London Welsh, Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Pool 1: London Irish v Mont-de-Marsan, Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Pool 2: Worcester v VEA Femi-CZ Rovigo, Ian Davies (Wales)
Pool 4: Bucharest v Cammi Rugby Calvisano, Laurent Cardona (France)
Pool 2: Perpignan v Bizkaia Gernika RT, Ian Tempest (England)
Pool 3: Newport Gwent Dragons v Bayonne, Luke Pearce (England)
Pool 5: Stade Francais v Grenoble, Andrew Small (England)

Sunday, October 21

Pool 3: Rugby Mogliano v London Wasps, David Wilkinson (Ireland)