Referees Corner – Issue 3 – 2025/26 – Zebre

Welcome to this week’s referee’s corner for this game between Leinster and Zebra.

Today’s match referee is Ian Kenny supported by Stuart Gaffikin of USRFR and Andrew Fogarty of CAR with Colin Brett in the TMO box and Paul Haycock as FPRO. Ian was born in Ireland but referees out of Scotland for the SRU. He is a regular referee in the Scottish Premiership. In 2018-19 season he was placed in the Premier Panel of SRU referees, representing the Aberdeen Society.Kenny has been an Assistant referee in the URC on many occasions. He has also refereed the main Craven week match in South Africa

Kenny was the Assistant Referee in the France – Wales U20 Six Nations match in February 2019 and he was an Assistant Referee in the Rugby Europe trophy.  This is his sixth URC game and first time refereeing Leinster. 

Referee Education

August and September are always the busiest months in our calendar as we prepare for the kick-off of  the new season and the leagues across the province, from U13 right up to adult level. Here’s a look at what’s been happening in referee training and education over the past month.

In August we had our annual seminar which was attended by over 200 referees, evaluators and others. Led by Sean Gallagher, and opened by the President of the Referees Brendan Conroy,  the day took our referees through various topics. Billy Phelan introduced the Spirit of Rugby. Sean took the referees through the Global Law Trials which we mentioned in last week’s article. Gordon Condell talked through the panel changes for the season ahead. The session closed with some reminders for the season ahead and an update on the forthcoming monthly education modules.

40 new recruits have started refereeing, completing three sessions: Welcome to Refereeing, Ready to Referee, and Safety and Control since the start of the season. We’re delighted to see that 20% of these recruits are women starting on their referee journey.

Our Level 1 Age-grade referees attended an online Safety and Control session, focusing on effectively dealing with foul play and 170 referees who officiate the lower end of adult rugby took part in a Ready to Referee webinar, focusing on season preparation and self-review to support continuous improvement.

Match officials at the top levels within the province attended an in-person Ready to Referee session, focusing on season preparation and player management. Our National Panel referees took part in a session designed to prepare them for the opening rounds of the Energia All-Ireland League. Our referee mentors met to plan their support for trainee referees in their early matches, and we were proud to launch the new IRFU Referee Developer Qualification. A massive thank you to all our referees and referee developers for their commitment to improving standards across all levels of the game!

Give it a Lash Jack

Congratulations to Jack MacNeice who has been appointed as AR2 for Munster v Argentina on November 1st.

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 brendan.conroy@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.