Barnes to ref Munster’s Euro tie

ENGLISHMAN Wayne Barnes will referee a Heineken Cup match involving Munster for the fourth time when the defending champions take on Welsh side Ospreys at Thomond Park on Easter Sunday next, April 12.

That game kicks off at 1pm and will be followed at 3.30pm by the clash of Harlequins and Leinster at the Stoop, where Nigel Owens of Wales will be in control. England’s Chris White will set the quarter-finals in motion — and move to within one match of a half century of tournament fixtures — when he takes charge of the clash between Cardiff and Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, April 11.

And while the leading English referee controls his 49th Heineken Cup fixture, Irish official Alan Lewis will be taking his tally to 59 matches later that afternoon at the Walkers Stadium as Leicester Tigers face Bath.