The match officials for the upcoming United Rugby Championship games have been confirmed, with the action running from Friday, December 20 to Thursday, December 26.
Round Eight will kick off with two injury-hit teams colliding when Ulster take on Munster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday night, with both having lost last time out. Ben Whitehouse will referee this game while Andrew Cole and Sam Holt are his assistants, with Aled Griffiths the Television Match official for the Belfast clash.
The derby theme continues on Saturday as Benetton take on Zebre Parma in Treviso, the Stormers host the Lions in Cape Town, the Sharks tackle the Bulls at Kings Park, Ospreys meet Scarlets in Swansea and finally Leinster clash with Connacht at the Aviva Stadium to conclude a busy day of United Rugby Championship action.
Federico Vedovelli (FIR), Christopher Allison, Morne Ferreira (both SARU), Craig Evans (WRU) and Chris Busby (IRFU) are set to referee those respective games.
There is just one fixture taking place this Sunday as Glasgow Warriors take on Edinburgh at Hampden Park in a huge Scottish derby. Hollie Davidson (SRU) is in the middle for the clash. She is supported by Sam Grove-White and Ru Campbell (both SRU) while fellow countryman Mike Adamson is the Television Match Official.
The URC action then takes a break until Thursday, December 26 and the Welsh derby between the Dragons and Cardiff. Adam Jones (WRU) has been named as the referee for that game while his assistants are Ben Breakspear and Ben Whitehouse (both WRU). The Television Match Official in Newport will be Keith David (WRU).
URC match officials, Round Eight
Friday, December 20
Ulster v Munster
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 19:35 IRE & UK / 20:35 ITA / 21:35 SA
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 104th league game)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (IRFU), Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, TG4, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Saturday, December 21
Benetton v Zebre Parma
Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 13:00 IRE & UK / 14:00 ITA / 15:00 SA
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR, 12th league game)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Alex Frasson (FIR)
TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)
Live on: Sky Italia, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Stormers v Lions
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 13:45 IRE & UK / 14:45 ITA / 15:45 SA
Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU, 2nd league game)
Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs (SARU), Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Sharks v Bulls
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 16:00 IRE & UK / 17:00 ITA / 18:00 SA
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU, 14th league game)
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU), Griffin Colby (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Ospreys v Scarlets
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea
Kick-off: 17:15 IRE & UK / 18:15 ITA / 19:15 SA
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 61st league game)
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
Live on: BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Leinster v Connacht
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:30 IRE & UK / 18:30 ITA / 19:30 SA
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 48th league game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Live on: RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Sunday, December 22
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Kick-off: 15:00 IRE & UK / 16:00 ITA / 17:00 SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 16th league game)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (SRU), Ru Campbell (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Thursday, December 26
Dragons v Cardiff
Venue: Rodney Parade, Newport
Kick-off: 17:15 IRE & UK / 18:15 ITA / 19:15 SA
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU, 41st league game)
Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (WRU), Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
Live on: S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/united-rugby-championship-round-eight-match-officials-kick-off-times-and-tv-coverage
