Donal Courtney in action during a Heineken Cup match between Northampton and Biarritz in 2006 © Getty Images

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The ERC's match official performance manager, Donal Courtney, is demanding consistency from referees prior to the start of the new European season.

In recent years, coaches have repeatedly complained of officials differing in their interpretation of the rules from one game to the next. However, Courtney is confident that all Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup officials will be signing from the same hymn sheet this term.

"Over the summer I travelled to various countries preaching consistencies in all competitions," he told the Irish Times. "There are 44 clubs in two tournaments [Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup]. But we also looked at the Tri-Nations and summer internationals and we met again last Friday week, myself and the six referee managers [of the participating countries]. We are working to make sure we are on the road of referee consistency throughout. What we don't want is a perception that there is a difference between north and south."

Courtney explained that referees have been instructed to look closely at five key areas: offside from kicks; offside at a ruck [team not in possession]; illegal maul formation around lineout; scrum engagement sequence; and the tackle. The latter has proven particularly contentious but Courtney feels that the law is clear enough and will be properly enforced.

"Certainly four of the areas are straightforward enough," he said. "In the tackle, I think that players now understand that if you are involved in the tackle and bring him down and you don't release him, the penalty will be against you."

The choice of officials for the most high-profile of games has also caused controversy in the past and has often led to coaches arguing that the referee was out of his depth or too inexperienced. However, Courtney points out that the ERC is in something of a no-win situation in this regard.

"It is obviously a work in progress because you are going to have referees of different quality, referees who are experienced and referees who are inexperienced," Courtney said. "Alan Rolland had to do his first Heineken Cup match. Alan Lewis did and I did too. Then, I remember the first time I did a game on television, it was a bit of a different thing. One of the things we look for is the ability to manage in high temperature situations. The best man managers are the best referees."