Erc Press Release: Referee's Confirmed

In the Heineken Cup, England referee Tony Spreadbury will return to Lansdowne Road for the first time since he took over in last season's final in Dublin when he takes charge of the Round 5 Pool match between Leinster Lions and Cardiff Blues on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).

Spreadbury made Heineken Cup history when he became the first man to replace a referee in a final after replacing the injured Chris White after only 16 minutes of the game between Toulouse and Perpignan.

He will also be on duty in Ireland in Round 6 when he takes controls the crucial Pool 5 game between Munster and Bourgoin at Thomond Park on Saturday, 31 January (kick-off 5.00pm).

Chris White, meanwhile, will be in France over the next two weekends as he referees the Pool 1 match between Stade Francais and Ulster in Paris on Saturday (kick-off 4.00pm local time) before heading south to take control of the Pool 2 decider between Toulouse and Edinburgh on Saturday, 31

January (kick-off 4.00pm local time).

Dave McHugh, the only man to take charge of two Heineken Cup finals and the man who has refereed more European matches than any other referee, will take his record tally of games to 27 when he controls the Pool 3 game at the Arms Park between Cardiff Blues and Sale Sharks on Saturday, 31 January (kick-off 3.00pm).

Closing the gap behind him are fellow Irishman Alan Lewis, who will rise to 25 Heineken Cup ties with a French double at Agen and Perpignan in the last two rounds of Pool matches. Frenchman Joel Dume will also reach 25 appearances with games at Benetton Treviso and Ulster, as will White with his two games on French soil.

HEINEKEN REFEREE APPEARANCES

Dave McHugh (Ireland) 26
Joel Dume (France) 23
Alan Lewis (Ireland) 23
Chris White (England) 23
Iain Ramage (Scotland) 21
Joel Jutge (France) 20
Didier Mene (France) 18
Nigel Whitehouse (Wales) 18
Jim Fleming (Scotland) 17
Steve Lander (England) 17
Nigel Williams (Wales) 16
Didier Mene (France) 14
Chuck Muir (Scotland) 14
Tony Spreadbury (England) 14
Brian Campsall (England) 13
Antonio Lombardi (Italy) 12
Giulio de Santis (Italy) 12

HEINEKEN CUP - ROUND 5 (All kick-offs LOCAL time)
FRIDAY 23 JANUARY
Pool 2 Edinburgh Rugby v N-S Ospreys 19.30 Eric Darriere (F)
Pool 3 Leinster Lions v Cardiff Blues 19.45 Tony Spreadbury (E) RTE / Sky
Pool 4 Agen v Northampton Saints 20.00 Alan Lewis (I)Sport + / Sky (delayed)
Llanelli Scarlets v The Borders 19.30 Dave Pearson (E)
Pool 6 Celtic Warriors v Perpignan 19.15 Giulio De Santis (It)

SATURDAY 24 JANUARY
Pool 1 Stade Francais v Ulster 16.00 Chris White (E) FR2 / Sky
The Dragons v Leicester Tigers 17.00 Joel Jutge (F) Sky
Pool 5 Bourgoin v Gloucester 19.30 Donal Courtney (I)
Benetton Treviso v Munster 14.30 Joel Dume (F) Sky Italia

SUNDAY 25 JANUARY
Pool 2 Leeds Tykes v Toulouse 13.00 Gregg Davies (S) Sky
Pool 3 Sale Sharks v Biarritz Olympique 15.00 Alain Rolland (I) Sky / Sport +
Pool 6 London Wasps v Calvisano 15.00 Rob Dickson (S)

HEINEKEN CUP - ROUND 6 (All kick-offs LOCAL time)
FRIDAY 30 JANUARY
Pool 1 Ulster v The Dragons 19.45 Joel Dume (F)
Leicester Tigers v Stade Francais 19.45 Alain Rolland (I)

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY
Pool 2 Toulouse v Edinburgh Rugby 16.00 Chris White (E)
N-S Ospreys v Leeds Tykes 15.00 Rob Dickson (S)
Pool 3 Biarritz Olympique v Leinster Lions 16.00 Nigel Williams (W)
Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks 15.00 David McHugh (I)
Pool 5 Gloucester v Benetton Treviso 17.00 Eric Darriere (F)
Munster v Bourgoin 17.00 Tony Spreadbury (E)

SUNDAY 1 FEBRUARY

Pool 4 Northampton Saints v Llanelli Scarlets 15.00 Donal Courtney (I)
The Borders v Agen 15.00 Hugh Watkins (W)
Pool 6 Perpignan v London Wasps 14.00 Alan Lewis (I)
Calvisano v Celtic Warriors 14.00 Roy Maybank (E)

PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP QUARTER-FINALS (All kick-offs LOCAL time)
FIRST LEG Saturday 24 January
15.00 NEC Harlequins v Brive Hugh Watkins (W)
19.30 Narbonne v Connacht Roy Maybank (E)
19.30 Beziers v Bath Rugby Nigel Williams (W)

Sunday 25 January
15.00 Montferrand v Saracens Iain Ramage (S)

SECOND LEG
Saturday 31 January
14.00 Connacht v Narbonne Dave Pearson (E)
14.15 Bath Rugby v Beziers Giulio De Santis (It)

Sunday 1 February
15.00 Saracens v Montferrand Nigel Whitehouse (W)
15.00 Brive v NEC Harlequins Gregg Davies (S)

PARKER PEN SHIELD QUARTER-FINALS (All kick-offs LOCAL time) FIRST LEG
Saturday 24 January
14.30 Rugby Parma v Rugby Rovigo Franck Maciello (F)
14.30 Viadana v Rotherham Titans Simon McDowell (I)
15.00 UE Santboiana v Leonessa Jean-Pierre Matheu (F)
19.30 Montpellier v Petrarca Rugby David Changleng (S)

SECOND LEG
Saturday 31 January
15.00 Rugby Rovigo v Rugby Parma Simon McDowell (I)
15.00 Petrarca Rugby v Montpellier Wayne Barnes (E)
15.00 Rotherham Titans v Viadana Christophe Berdos (F)
17.00 Leonessa v UE Santboiana David Keane (I)