White in the middle as fans plan flights

CHRIS WHITE (England), the referee at the centre of Munster's controversial Heineken Cup semi-final loss to Stade Francais in Lille two years ago, has been appointed to handle the game with Toulouse on tomorrow week.

Not that there are likely to be any complaints from Munster who rate White one of the top referees.

Two years ago John O'Neill was denied a perfectly legitimate try but the blame for missing the touchdown was laid on touch-judge Steve Lander and the fact that video replays were not available. White was, apparently, unsighted, but everyone felt that had Lander been up with the play the try would have been given and Munster would have won instead of losing the game 16-15.

Nigel Williams (Wales), who refereed Munster's game with Leicester on Sunday, will take charge of the second semi-final between Leinster and Perpignan the following day.

The 39 year old White has been a full-time referee since 1999 and has controlled 18 internationals.

Williams, 42, has been in charge of five major internationals and will do three more Tests before the 2003 World Cup including England against France and Australia against Ireland.

Dozens of rugby packages to the Heineken Cup semi-final in Toulouse are expected to be unveiled by today.

In the meantime, Ryanair has announced details of a special flight from Dublin to Perpignan to tie in with Munster's game against Toulouse and Leinster's clash with Perpignan.

For the Munster fans, the rugby special flight will depart direct from Dublin on Friday 25th April to Perpignan. Coach transfer will be available from Perpignan Airport for onward travel to the centre of Toulouse, with the return to Dublin on Sunday evening.

Announcing details of the Ryanair-rugby special, Ryanair's Head of Communications, Paul Fitzsimmons said: "There is a great weekend of rugby ahead in Heineken Cup semi-finals, and Ryanair want to give travelling fans from Munster and Perpignan the chance to follow their heroes."

The majority of Munster supporters, however, are likely to link up with the provincial tour operators who have been involved in transporting the fans over the last number of seasons. At least 2,000 people are likely to travel on scheduled flights from either Shannon or Cork to London and Paris en-route to Toulouse.