Controversial Bledisloe Cup referee to take charge of Edinburgh v Munster

Referee Mathieu Raynal speaks to Nic White and Bernard Foley of the Wallabies during the Bledisloe Cup match with New Zealand in Melbourne in September. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

French officials will take charge of this week’s BKT United Rugby Championship fixtures involving Scottish clubs as part of a referee exchange programme between the URC and English and French leagues.

Mathieu Raynal has been appointed referee for Edinburgh’s home match against Munster on Friday. The experienced whistler was embroiled in a time-wasting row during a Bledisloe Cup match in the summer. Raynal pulled up Australia stand-off Bernard Foley for taking too long with a penalty and New Zealand went on to score the match-winning try from the resulting scrum.

The incident sparked fury in Australia and Rayal was not placed in charge of any of the Autumn Nations Series matches until he stepped in as a late replacement for England v New Zealand when Nic Berry pulled out for personal reasons.

Another French referee, Tual Trainini, will take charge of Zebre Parma v Glasgow Warriors in Parma on Saturday. Trainini has been refereeing in the Top 14 since the 2015-16 season.