Referees Corner – Issue 12 – 2024/5 – Zebre

A very warm welcome to another edition of referees corner. Today’s match referee is Sam Grove-White from the Scottish Rugby Union. Sam started refereeing following an ankle injury whilst playing in university. He has had a steady progression through his refereeing career. He has refereed in the Japanese Top League in 2015 as part of a Scottish Rugby Union initiative to create links with Scotland and Japan rugby and he is also a regular  in the Scottish Premiership as well as the URC. Sam was picked as a referee for the World Rugby Sevens Series of 2016-17 season. This continued through to the 2018-19 season. Grove-White has refereed in the Under 20 Six Nations and also refereed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. This is his sixth time refereeing Leinster. Today he will be ably assisted by Keane Davidson, who did a fantastic job refereeing the recent AIL Men’s Final, and Stuart Gaffikin of the Ulster Society

Congratulations to Brendan Conroy who was recently elected President of the Leinster Rugby Referees at our Annual General Meeting. Brendan has been a long serving member of the association as both a referee and as North Midlands representative. He has done a huge amount to grow refereeing in the area and has represented his own club, Athy, with dignity.  John Dunne moves into the Senior Vice President Role and Mark Jenkinson is elected Junior Vice President. 

As the 2024–2025 season draws to a close, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the activities, and achievements of the Leinster Rugby Referees. This has been our busiest season to date, with a 10% increase in activities compared to last year, following an 11% rise the previous season. We now have more active referees than ever before, supported by a committed network of mentors, evaluators, development groups, committees, and other dedicated members. 

Leinster Rugby relies on the Referees’ Association to officiate all competitions within its jurisdiction. As approximately half of Ireland’s rugby activity takes place in Leinster, the responsibility of supplying qualified referees lies with us. We feel fortunate to be members of Leinster Rugby Referees—an organisation that not only meets these high expectations but consistently exceeds them. 

We extend our thanks to Hayley Whyte, our Referee Administrator whose contributions continue to go far beyond the remit of her role.  We thank our area representatives who continue to be the cornerstone of our volunteer effort. From referee selections and talent identification to organising Area Meetings, attending Branch Area meetings, and participating in monthly Executive meetings—the breadth of their involvement is considerable. Many of our area representatives also remain active referees on the field. Well done to David Jenkins, Ian Hayes, Alistair Finlayson, John Kerr, and Trevor McHugh—your contributions are deeply appreciated. 

In a season where we had over 50 trial members, 34 of which became full members and 8 are still in the process we thank all involved in growing our associate especially Michael Carroll who has managed the trial members for a number of years. 

Want to get involved? 

Referees provide a vital function in servicing all levels of the game. Refereeing is also a fantastic hobby and is increasingly becoming a genuine alternative to playing the game.

Whether you have aspirations to referee at the highest level or to referee locally, there is a place for you. There are excellent support structures in place to develop referees and a thriving social aspect too.

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 X @leinsterreferee.