The match officials for the opening round of the 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup have now been confirmed ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
The premier domestic competition gets underway in the English South West on Friday night, with Gloucester taking on reigning champions Bordeaux-Bègles, with a further 11 games pencilled in over Saturday and Sunday.
Eight of those fixtures take place on Saturday, in the form of Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors, Bulls v Stade Français, Clermont Auvergne v Leinster, Stormers v Bristol Bears, Connacht v Saracens, La Rochelle v Lions, Munster v Racing 92 and Bath v Montpellier. Sunday’s action then sees Pau face Leicester Tigers, Toulouse take on Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints and Cardiff play out an Anglo-Welsh tie.
Ahead of the first round of fixtures, EPCR head of match officials, Tony Spreadbury, has made the appointments for all 11 fixtures, with officials from across the competing nations selected.
“We are delighted with the high standards of Officiating and the performances of our match officials last season,” he said. “These appointments reflect their consistency, professionalism and commitment to excellence across EPCR competitions.
“We are looking forward to seeing the officials take charge of some outstanding fixtures in Round 1 and to maintaining those high standards throughout the pool stage.”
Also commenting, EPCR chairman Dominic McKay added: “I would like to thank all our match officials for their professionalism and commitment to delivering the very best matches across our competitions.
“I would also like to thank Tony Spreadbury and the wider selection team for the considerable work that takes place behind the scenes to ensure we have a line-up of match officials of world-class quality.
“With the new season just around the corner, we are looking forward to seeing them take centre stage as the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup get underway.”
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Investec Champions Cup Round One
Friday
Gloucester v Bordeaux-Bègles
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Ita), Dario Merli (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Saturday
Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wal), Lucas Yendle (Wal)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Bulls v Stade Français
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant referees: George Selwood (Eng), Jamie Parr (Eng)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Clermont Auvergne v Leinster
Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (Eng), Jonathan Healy (Eng)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Stormers v Bristol Bears
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (Fra), Flavien Hourquet (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Connacht v Saracens
Venue: Dexcom Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (Fra), Julien Caulier (Fra)
TMO: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
La Rochelle v Lions
Venue: Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)
Assistant referees: Jonny MacKenzie (Sco), Rob McDowell (Sco)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Munster v Racing 92
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
Assistant referees: Joe James (Eng), Richard Gordon (Eng)
TMO: Dean Richards (Eng)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Bath v Montpellier
Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Ita), Alberto Favaro (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Sunday
Pau v Leicester Tigers
Venue: Stade du Hameau
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ire)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ire), Andrew Cole (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Toulouse v Exeter Chiefs
Venue: Stadium de Toulouse
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Sco), Finlay Brown (Sco)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Northampton Saints v Cardiff
Venue: DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (Fra)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (Fra), Cyrille Boulay (Fra)
TMO: Julien Castaignede (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
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