Champions and Challenge Cup Round 1 &2 Referee Appointments

France’s Mathieu Raynal will be in charge when Exeter Chiefs begin their Heineken Champions Cup defence against Glasgow Warriors at Sandy Park next month. Raynal’s selection for the Pool B clash, on Sunday, 13 December, is one of 38 referee appointments for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2020/21 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup which have been announced today by a committee chaired by Joel Jutge, EPCR’s Head of Match Officials.

Andrew Brace of Ireland will be in charge when the two most recent Challenge Cup winners, Bristol Bears and ASM Clermont Auvergne, kick off their Heineken Champions Cup, Pool B campaigns at Ashton Gate on Saturday, 12 December, live and free-to-air in the UK and Ireland on Channel 4 and Virgin Media.

Click HERE for the referee appointments for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2020/21 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup

England’s Karl Dickson will be in the middle for the Pool A meeting of four-time winners, Leinster Rugby, and Montpellier at the GGL Stadium on Saturday, 12 December, and on the following day, the Pool B head-to-head between last season’s defeated finalists, Racing 92, and Connacht Rugby at Paris La Défense Arena will be refereed by Wayne Barnes, also of England.

The new Champions Cup season gets underway on Friday, 11 December at Franklin’s Gardens where Ben Whitehouse of Wales will be in charge of Northampton Saints’ Pool A clash with the number one-ranked TOP 14 club, Bordeaux-Bègles, and later the same evening, England’s Matthew Carley has been appointed for the Pool B contest between Ulster Rugby and Toulouse at the Kingspan Stadium.

Of the many high-profile matches in Round 2, the meeting of Clermont and Munster Rugby at Stade Marcel-Michelin on Saturday, 19 December will be refereed by Carley, while Brace will be in the middle for the eagerly-awaited confrontation between Toulouse and Exeter Chiefs at Stade Ernest Wallon on Sunday, 20 December.

The Challenge Cup, which starts with 14 clubs before moving to an expanded knockout stage, also kicks off on Friday, 11 December with Scotland’s Ben Blain taking charge of Stade Francais Paris v Benetton Rugby at Stade Jean Bouin. On the same evening, Nika Amashukeli of Georgia has been appointed for the meeting of Leicester Tigers and Brive at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, and France’s Ludovic Cayre will referee the clash of Newcastle Falcons and Cardiff Blues at Kingston Park.

This season’s Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup silverware will be decided in Marseille when the finals are staged at the Stade Vélodrome on 21 and 22 May 2021.