LEINSTER’S CHAMPIONS CUP quarter-final against Bath at the Aviva Stadium on 4 April will be refereed by Frenchman Jérôme Garcès.
The appointment was announced by the EPCR match officials selection committee this afternoon, with Mathieu Raynal and Christophe Berdos to serve as Garcès’ assistant referees, while Eric Guazins will be on television match official duty.
Leinster have been refereed by Garcès in five European matches since 2011/12, winning two, losing two and drawing their clash with Wasps in January.
The Frenchman was the man in the middle when Leinster won 18-13 away to Bath in 2011/12 and 33-14 at home against the Scarlets in 2012/13.
Garcès was also the referee when the province lost 18-9 to the Northampton Saints in the Aviva Stadium last season, as well as for the 24-18 defeat to Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop during the current campaign.
Irish provinces enjoyed seven wins in nine games under the eye of Garcès from the 2009/10 season until 2012/13, but have just two wins from seven [as well as the Wasps draw] with him on the whistle since.
There will be Irish referees in charge of two of the other Champions Cup quarter-finals that weekend, as John Lacey adjudicates Clermont’s home tie against Northampton and George Clancy oversees Wasps’ visit to Toulon.
David Wilkinson and Simon McDowell are part of Lacey’s team for the Clermont game, while Clancy will be assisted by the IRFU’s Dudley Phillips and Gary Conway, as well as having Marshal Kilgore in the TMO booth.
Meanwhile, Pat Lam’s Connacht have learned that Romain Poite will be on the whistle for their Challenge Cup quarter-final visit to Gloucester’s Kingsholm on 3 April.
Cedric Marchat and Thomas Charabas of the FFR will assist Poite, while Gareth Simmonds is the TMO.
For the full list of refereeing appointments for the first knock-out weekend of the European club season, click this link. Thanks to Russ Petty for the statistics relating to Garcès.
Are you happy with the appointments for Leinster and Connacht’s games?
