The officials have been confirmed for this weekend's epic rugby action as the Premiership and URC finals take place on Saturday before England host the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
Gallagher Premiership final referee – Leicester Tigers vs Saracens
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Tiime: 15:30
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, Christophe Ridley
TMO: Tom Foley
TV: ITV 4, BT Sport
Referee, Wayne Barnes during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Match between Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby at Ashton Gate on 29 Jan. Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
United Rugby Championship Final referee – DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Tiime: 16:30
Referee: Andy Brace (Ireland, 80th league game)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (SA), AJ Jacobs (SA)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SA)
TV: SuperSport, Premier Sports, RTÉ & URC TV
BRACE PROFILE
Hometown: I live in Limerick, I've been here for the last 10 years, but my family are based in Wales in Cardiff. I was only meant to be here for a year, but one year led to another and 10 years later they can't get rid of me!
Referee, Andrew Brace consults with the TMO after a tackle in the air by Siya Kolisi, Captain of South Africa on Joe Marchant of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 20 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
First memory of Rugby: I played a bit of rugby at primary school, but was quite late when I started playing at a club, probably about 13 years old. My first, and funniest, memory when I was in primary school was one of my first games, and we needed to score to win the game. The ball came to me on the wing, it was probably my only touch of the game, before sprinting down the wing for the winning score. I dived over the line, hand in the air celebrating only to realise it was the 22, not the try line. Hilarious now looking back, but at the time I don’t think my mates were laughing!
t international as a ref: England v Barbarians match was my first test but it wasn't a capped International as they’re not capped games, so my first full International was out in Calgary in 2017 with Georgia against Canada. I will never forget it. We arrived the day before to about 28 degrees, a lovely day in Calgary, but the next day the temperature went through the floor with wind chill in the minuses! It was that cold that one of the players had to go to hospital with hypothermia and we had to have a hot shower at half time just to warm up. My first Tier one International was the following year - Argentina v Wales.
FAVOURITE PLAYERS TO REFEREE:
Brace said: "Who is the best player you've refereed? There are so many great players out there, but I would have to say a Rory Best or Sam Warburton would be up there. Two great players who would leave it all out there but really forced you to make decisions as a referee, particularly when jackling for a turnover - they were both relentless as they competed at every opportunity so every breakdown a decision would have to be made."
TOUGHEST PLAYER TO REFEREE:
Brace said: " I think one of the toughest players I’ve refereed would be Marcel Coetzee. He’s such a physical player who never takes a backward step."
England vs Barbarians referee
Venue: Twickenham, London
Tiime: 16:30
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson (SRU) & Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
TV: Prime Video
Referee Andrea Piardi shows a yellow card to Theo Chabouni of Castres Olympique during the EPCR Challenge Cup match between London Irish and Castres Olympique at The Brentford Community Stadium, London on 15 April 2022 (Photo: Danny Loo/PPAUK)
EDITORS PICKS: