Referees Corner – Issue 1 – Hollywoodbet Sharks – 2023/24

A very warm welcome to another season and another edition of referees corner. Today’s match referee is Federico Vedovelli from the Italian Rugby Federation. Federico is no stranger to these shores having refereed Ireland U20 in the Six Nations Championship last year. He is ably assisted by Eoghan Cross and Paul Haycock, who recently celebrated his 20th season on the national panel. Steafano Rossini from Italy will be in the TMO box. We wish everyone great game.

At the end of last summer Tom Tuohy of Boyne RFC was elected President of the Association following in the footsteps of Gordon Condell of Clondalkin RFC who had an excellent year in charge. Tom has held prior roles in the association including Honorary Secretary for a number of years. We wish him well for the year ahead. We also extend thanks to two members of our committee who have stepped down after many years of service.

David MacDonald of Seapoint RFC was Chair of the Management Committee and IRFU Representative and is stepping down at the end of this season. We thank David for all his contributions over the years.

Paddy Curran of Roscrea RFC was our Midlands Area Representative for over 15 years. Paddy is well respected across the province and has helped bring many referees through the system as well as ensuring that youth fixtures in the Midlands are appointed to and refereed on a weekly basis.

Tom said that he was honored to be elected to this prestigious position.  “This great sport unites us all and rugby is more than just a game it teaches us discipline, teamwork and respect. As referees, we play a vital role in upholding the integrity of our sport, ensuring fair play, inclusivity and keeping the spirit of rugby alive.”

He said he will ensure that we continue to invest in the training and development of referees at all levels and through this encourage more individuals to take up the whistle, ensuring a steady supply of qualified officials of all genders to support participation in rugby throughout the province. As an association we will continue to embrace technology to enhance the officiating process and continue to invest in video assistance, comms and other tools to assist  referees in making accurate decisions.

He always considered refereeing to be more than a just a hobby; it’s a community and he aims to continue to foster an atmosphere of inclusivity, camaraderie and belonging amongst all our members. 

Finally, congratulations to the 34 trainees who attended the Leinster Rugby Referees New Referee Courses in Carlow and Maynooth during August. This excellent turnout was a result of the hard work and recruitment put in by Sean Gallagher and team over the summer. It was great to see so many enthusiastic recruits turn up. The future is very bright. Thanks to Sean and Michael Carroll for facilitating the sessions.

Feel free to make contact with the Leinster Rugby Referees at hayley.whyte@leinsterrugby.ie  If you are interested in becoming a referee get in contact with us through our Facebook, our website www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie or through twitter @leinsterreferee.