Who is the referee for the Champions Cup final? Meet the man with the whistle for Leinster vs La Rochelle

Leinster and La Rochelle will face each other in a bid to be crowned the best club side in European rugby.

The two sides also met in the final of the Champions Cup this time last year in Marseille. The French side, who are coached by Irish rugby legend Ronan O'Gara, proved victorious in 2022.

Leinster will be looking to avenege that defeat at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday (19 May) - as they bid to lift their fifth European title and join Toulouse at the top of the record books. The Irish side have been runners-up in their last two finals in 2019 and 2022.

La Rochelle are in the final of the Champions Cup for the third year in a row. They lost to fellow French side Toulouse in 2021 but came back 12 months later to beat Leinster and claim their first ever European title.

But who will be the referee for the game on Saturday? Here's all you need to know:

When is the European Rugby Champions Cup final?

The final of the tournament will take place on Saturday, 19 May. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 4.45pm.

Where is the final?

The final will be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. It means that Leinster have played all of their knock-out games at the Aviva Stadium having had home advantage in the round of 16, quarter-final and the semi-final.

The Tottenham Hotsput Stadium in London will host the 2024 European Rugby Champions Cup final it was announced in April this year.

How to watch the final?

ITV will be showing the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup live on terestrial TV in the UK. It will be broadcast on ITV1/ 1HD. BT Sport will also provide coverage of the final for subscribers.

In Ireland, RTE will be broadcasting the final live on free-to-air coverage.

Who is the referee for the European Champions Cup final?

The referee for the final of the Champions Cup will be South African referee Jaco Peyper. The 43-year-old has been a referee at the top level for many years now - having taking charge of games at both the 2015 and 2019 world cup.

He was referee for Wales' quarter-final match in Japan against France when he sent off France's Sébastien Vahaamahina for an elbow. He was pictured posing with Welsh fans jokingly making an elbowing action. He was not considered for a World Cup semi-final the following week.

Peyper was recently the referee for final Six Nations match in 2023 between Ireland and England in which the English fullback Freddie Steward was controversially sent off. The red card was later overturned after the match.

Peyper made his refereeing debut in Super Rugby in 2008 when he was still in his 20s and quickly rose through the ranks. He took charge of the final for the 2011 junior rugby world cup in Italy. He has been named one of the referees for the 2023 World Cup in France later this year.

His assistants for the final will be the English duo, Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley both of whom have been selected as officials for this year's world cup. Beth Dickens (Scotland) will be the citing commissioner for the match.

Who is the TMO?

English referee Tom Foley will be the Television Match Official for the game in Dublin. Foley has refereed over 100 matches in the English Premiership during his career.