It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
There are seven changes to the starting XV, including two new caps in the pack, while there is also a first start for Sam Prendergast.
Another Australian, Reuben Keane, and Jeremy Rozier of France will make their Test debuts over the course of a November international window where 30 referees from 12 countries will take charge of the 36 Test matches and five other representative games.
Leicester Tigers will face some familiar faces when they take on Ealing Trailfinders in their Premiership Cup fixture with the RFU Championship's star side.
English rugby is riven with financial strife, relying on its benevolent owners to prop clubs up, and in Steve Lansdown, Bristol Bears have a gem
Ex-RFU referee JP Doyle has been named as Scottish rugby’s high-performance referee coach in a newly created role put in place by performance director Jim Mallinder as part of the recent departmental restructure.
Southern Kings are struggling for PRO14 credibility but interim boss Robbi Kempson believes their Eastern Cape project will eventually work and inspire more Kolisi-type rags to riches stories.