A coach’s preparation never ends. Along with doing homework on their opponent, each of the eight Heineken Cup quarter-final coaches will have been busy studying their match referee. What might they notice?

The weekend begins with Nigel Owens at Thomond Park for Munster and Toulouse. Of the weekend’s four referees (Owens, Alain Rolland, Jerome Garces and Wayne Barnes) the jocular Welshman’s 15 penalties per game in domestic, Heineken Cup and Six Nations play have been by far the fewest. Penney’s men have had an inclination towards conceding penalties in the tackle and ruck. Owens has awarded just six penalties per game in the tackle/ruck area, a little over half that of Garces.

Overall, Munster’s discipline has been reasonably good this season conceding 9.4 penalties per game in 24 Pro 12 and Heineken Cup matches, one fewer than Toulouse per game. Toulouse have conceded three scrum penalties per match this season in domestic and Heineken Cup play but to their credit have not yet picked up a yellow card in the tournament. Owens is not a card-happy ref, issuing them at under half the rate of Wayne Barnes.

In Clermont-Ferrand Alain Rolland will take charge of Clermont Auvergne and Leicester. Compared to the other quarter final officials Rolland has been more inclined to penalise teams in the opposition 22 and in the first ten minutes of games. Clermont have conceded the most penalties of the eight remaining teams (11.2 per match) and their signature crime has been obstruction; they’ve been pinged for it 23 times this season compared to thrice for Ulster in just five fewer games. This season Rolland has awarded just nine foul play penalties in Heineken Cup, Pro 12 and Six Nations play; with Clermont and Leicester likely to offer up a bruising encounter, that number could well increase.

Ulster and Saracens will have Jerome Garces in the middle, he of the 11 tackle/ruck penalties per 80 minutes. Garces has penalised tackled players for not releasing more than twice as often as Nigel Owens (3.5 per game to Owens’ 1.5). He’s also been particularly strong on the high tackle, penalising it 13 times this season. Between domestic and Heineken Cup play Saracens have conceded both yellow cards and foul play penalties at a rate twice that of Ulster. This season Ulster’s discipline has been very good, their 8.7 penalties conceded per game bettered only by Leinster among the quarter finalists.

On Sunday afternoon Wayne Barnes will be in Toulon. Barnes has not been afraid of his whistle this season, averaging 24 penalties per game. He’s given a very large proportion of penalties against teams in their own 22 (28% of all his penalties, compared to 19% for Rolland) while awarding just 11% of his penalties against teams while in their opponents’ 22. He does, however, penalise very evenly throughout the 80 minutes. In terms of things to look for, Barnes has been quick to penalise for collapsing a maul (1.7 per game compared to 0.3 by Rolland) and has blown for foul play penalties twice as often as Owens or Rolland.

All matches are not created equal; these refereeing stats reflect a combination of each referee’s individual tendencies, the type of play in the various competitions and the actions of the teams in each game they’ve officiated. After all, if a prop boxes a fly half in the face then a penalty and red card are on the way no matter who is in charge. But clever coaches study the refereeing form, and clever players adapt accordingly.

Credit: all stats courtesy of Opta.