Lacey And Clancy To Referee Champions Cup Quarter-Finals

One of the highest quality weekends of rugby in the northern Hemisphere will get underway at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday, April 4 with the Champions Cup quarter-final clash of two former tournament winners, Leinster and Bath, which will be refereed by Jerome Garces of France.

Following the announcement of the referees for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup quarter-finals, the EPCR match officials selection committee has appointed Ireland’s John Lacey to control the second of the Champions Cup quarter-finals between Clermont Auvergne and last season’s Aviva Premiership champions Northampton Saints at Stade Marcel Michelin.

On Sunday, April 5 the action switches to Paris where Nigel Owens of Wales will be in the middle for the meeting of number 1 seeds Racing Metro 92 and Saracens at Stade Yves-du-Manoir.

The Champions Cup quarter-finals will come to a close later that day when George Clancy, as part of an all-Irish team of match officials, referees another Anglo-French confrontation between holders Toulon and Wasps at the Stade Félix Mayol.

The knockout stages of EPCR’s tournaments kick off on Friday, April 3 when France’s Romain Poite will be in charge of the first of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals which pits top seeds Gloucester against Connacht at Kingsholm Stadium, with JP Doyle of England appointed for the Welsh derby between Newport Gwent Dragons and Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade the following day.

The quarter-final meeting of Exeter Chiefs and Newcastle Falcons at Sandy Park will be refereed by Italy’s Marius Mitrea and the curtain comes down on the weekend on Sunday evening at the Madejski Stadium where London Irish take on Edinburgh with Pascal Gauzere of France in charge.

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EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP QUARTER-FINALS:

Saturday, April 4 –

LEINSTER v Bath, Aviva Stadium, 3.15pm
Referee: Jerome Garces (France); Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal, Christopher Berdos (both France); TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Clermont Auvergne v Northampton Saints, Stade Marcel Michelin, 6.45pm local time
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland); Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), David Wilkinson (Ireland); TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Sunday, April 5 –

Racing Metro 92 v Saracens, Stade Yves-du-Manoir, 1.45pm local time
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales); Assistant Referees: Ian Davies, Ben Whitehouse (both Wales); TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Toulon v Wasps, Stade Felix Mayol, 4.15pm local time
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland); Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips, Gary Conway (both Ireland); TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)