Lacey starts European Cup
That match will be between the title-holders Saracens and the title-holders of the year before – Toulon. The match will be played in Toulon at the Stade Félix Mayol on Saturday, 15 October 2016. It will be a dramatic start to the competition between the two top sides of the recent past. Toulon won in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and Saracens to 2016
It will be Lacey's 51st European Cup fixture.
The appointments of referees are done by a selection committee chaired by Joël Jutge who was the IRB's referees' manager and is now the European Club Rugby's head of match officials, a post previously filled by Donal Courtney of Ireland.
The selectors have made appointments for the first two rounds of both the European Rugby Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup.
In the Champions Cup there are 20 clubs taking part, divided into five pools. The same is true of the Challenge Cup. In both the teams play in their own pools before branching out into the knock-out rounds.
Champions Cup Pools
Pool 1: Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors, Leicester Tigers, Munster
Pool 2: Connacht, Wasps, Toulouse, Zebre
Pool 3: Saracens, Toulon, Scarlets, Sale Sharks
Pool 4: Leinster, Montpellier, Northampton Saints, Castres
Pool 5: Exeter Chiefs, Clermont, Ulster, Bordeaux-Bègles
Referees, Round 1
Toulon vs Saracens
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Glasgow Warriors vs Leicester Tigers
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Wasps vs Zebre Rugby
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Leinster vs Castres
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Connacht vs Toulouse
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Northampton Saints vs Montpellier
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Scarlets vs Sale Sharks
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Bordeaux-Bègles vs Ulster
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Racing 92 vs Munster
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Exeter Chiefs vs Clermont Auvergne
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Champions Cup, Round 2
Sale Sharks vs Toulon
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Munster vs Glasgow Warriors
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Castres vs Northampton Saints
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Clermont Auvergne vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Saracens vs Scarlets
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Ulster vs Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Montpellier vs Leinster
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Toulouse vs Wasps
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Zebre vs Connacht
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Leicester Tigers vs Racing 92
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Challenge Cup Pools
Pool 1: Bayonne, Benetton Treviso, Gloucester, La Rochelle
Pool 2: Grenoble, Lyon, Newcastle Falcons, Ospreys
Pool 3: Brive, Enisei-STM, Newport Gwent Dragons, Worcester Warriors
Pool 4: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff Blues, Pau
Pool 5: Edinburgh, Harlequins, Stade Français, Timisoara Saracens
Referees, Round 1
Harlequins vs Stade Français
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Ospreys vs Newcastle Falcons
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Grenoble vs Lyon
Referee: Dudley Philips (Ireland)
Newport Gwent Dragons vs Brive
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)
Bristol vs Cardiff Blues
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Timisoara Saracens vs Edinburgh
Referee: Tom Foley (England)
Benetton Treviso vs La Rochelle
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Enisei-STM vs Worcester Warriors
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Bayonne vs Gloucester
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Pau vs Bath
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Referees, Round 2
Bath vs Bristol
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Stade Français vs Timisoara Saracens
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
La Rochelle vs Bayonne
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Cardiff Blues vs Pau
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Gloucester vs Benetton Treviso
Referee: Dudley Philips (Ireland)
Enisei-STM vs Newport Gwent Dragons
Referee: Vlad Iordachescu (Romania)
Worcester Warriors vs Brive
Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)
Edinburgh vs Harlequins
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Lyon vs Ospreys
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Newcastle Falcons vs Grenoble
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Previous Champions Cup Winners
For most of its existence it was popularly known as the Heineken Cup. In 2015 Toulon won the European Champions Cup.
1996: Toulouse
1997: Brive
1998: Bath
1999: Ulster
2000: Northampton Saints
2001: Leicester Tigers
2002: Leicester Tigers
2003: Toulouse
2004: Wasps
2005: Toulouse
2006: Munster
2007: Wasps
2008: Munster
2009: Leicester Tigers
2010: Toulouse
2011: Leinster
2012: Leinster
2013: Toulon
2014: Toulon
'2015: Toulon
2016: Saracens
French clubs have won it eight times, as have English clubs. Irish clubs have won it five times.
