Clancy To Officiate At Churchill Cup

Bruff clubman George Clancy has been chosen as one of six referees set for duty at next month’s Barclays Churchill Cup, which is being held in England for the first time.

Munster Branch referee Clancy already has considerable international experience under his belt, having refereed ‘A’ internationals and Heineken Cup matches previously, as well as enjoying a successful stint at last summer’s IRB Under-21 World Cup in France.

Last October, the 30-year-old was one of seven new appointments on the International Rugby Board’s Touch Judge/TMO panel. He was on Television Match Official duty during the recent RBS 6 Nations championship, for the Scotland v Italy and Wales v England fixtures.

The 2007 Churchill Cup has a nine-match schedule, with the six teams taking part including England Saxons, Ireland ‘A’, Scotland ‘A’, the New Zealand Maori, USA and Canada. As part of the alliance nature of the tournament each participating nation provides one referee and the tournament aims to develop referees as well as players and coaches.

Two of the referees – Andrew Small of England and Phil Smith of Canada – have both been involved in previous tournaments, whilst it will be the first time that Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Andrew MacPherson (Scotland), Graham Bullen (USA) and Irishman Clancy will be involved.

The IRB-affiliated tournament kicks of on Friday, May 18 with England Saxons against USA in Stockport and is being staged across England. Sandy Park in Exeter will play host to the Ireland ‘A’ team’s two pool stage matches, against Canada on Saturday, May 19 (kick-off 8pm) and the New Zealand Maori on Tuesday, May 29 (kick-off 8pm).

Tickets are available from www.exeterchiefs.co.uk or the Chiefs’ Ticket Office (tel: 0044 (1) 392 890890. The Churchill Cup finals are being held at Twickenham on Saturday, June 2 – ticket details are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

Commenting on the referee appointments, the RFU’s Ed Morrison, who is the Referee manager for the Churchill Cup, said: “The tournament has been successful as a development tool for referees since its introduction four years ago. With the Rugby World Cup on the near horizon, this year’s tournament will be more competitive than ever, and it is a great opportunity for these young officials to show their obvious potential in such a high profile International tournament.”

The schedule for the officials’ appointments at the Churchill Cup will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information on the 2007 Barclays Churchill Cup, please visit www.barclayschurchillcuprugby.com –