We are hiring! Please click here to join our growing magazine delivery team in Gloucestershire!

4. Leaflets Distributed with TLA

Wayne Barnes to take charge of 200th Premiership game

All Areas > Sport

Author: Contributed, Posted: Thursday, 24th May 2018, 11:20

Wayne Barnes Wayne Barnes

Wayne Barnes will take charge of his 200th Premiership game tomorrow.

The Forest of Dean official will hit the landmark at Twickenham, as defending champions Exeter Chiefs take on Saracens in the Aviva Premiership Rugby final.

The 39-year-old began his professional refereeing career in 2005 and will be overseeing his eighth Aviva Premiership Rugby final – the most ever.

His first final was a decade ago in 2008 when he took charge of Wasps’ 27-16 victory over Leicester Tigers.

Luke Pearce and Paul Dix will be Barnes’ assistants as he brings up his double century, while David Grashoff has been appointed as TMO and Paul Hull will be the citing officer for the Premiership’s showpiece occasion.

Saracens were 28-20 winners when the two sides met in the final in 2016, but the Chiefs got their revenge at the semi-final stage last year.

Exeter went on to defeat Wasps 23-20 after extra-time at Twickenham, and two additional 10-minute periods will be played should the scores be level again at the conclusion of regulation time.

If the two sides cannot be separated after extra time, then the winner will be the team that has scored the most tries in the game.

And, should that still not be enough to determine a winner, the final will be decided in a place-kicking competition.

Meanwhile, Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Rob Andrew will carry out the Aviva Premiership Rugby trophy as Premiership Rugby honour Doddie Weir and the work of his Foundation.

Fans will be asked to support the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation around Twickenham via a text-to-donate line, and from the sale of wristbands and headbands. And with limited tickets still available for the match there is still time for supporters to join the celebrations from the link below.

Weir – who is unable to make Saturday’s final – won the first ever Premiership Rugby title with Newcastle Falcons in 1998, earned 61 caps for Scotland and represented the British and Irish Lions on their successful tour to South Africa in 1997.

Alongside Wilkinson and Andrew, Weir was part of the Newcastle Falcons side that lifted the first Premiership Rugby trophy in 1998, while Dallaglio has become a big supporter of the Foundation.

Weir was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in December 2016 and is now the inspiration behind the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, raising funds for research into Motor Neurone Disease, and he has gained global support from rugby fans everywhere.

Weir said: “MND is a terminal illness and with that (diagnosis) no timetable was given. What the professor did say was that in a year’s time I’d probably be in a wheelchair coming back for my review.

“The support we’ve received and the generosity has just been overwhelming, it’s been tear-jerking. It gives me an awfully big lift and the same with my family. We’re very fortunate 18 months down the line that I’m still here and still smiling because the rugby public has been absolutely amazing.”

Fans at Twickenham will be asked to donate £5 by texting ‘DODDIE’ to 70970.

Copyright © 2024 The Local Answer Limited.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to The Local Answer Limited and thelocalanswer.co.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

More articles you may be interested in...

The Local Answer. Advertise to more people in Gloucestershire
The Local Answer. More magazines through Gloucestershire doors

© 2024 The Local Answer Limited - Registered in England and Wales - Company No. 06929408
Unit H, Churchill Industrial Estate, Churchill Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL53 7EG - VAT Registration No. 975613000

Privacy Policy