Referees Corner – Issue 4 – 2025/26 – Harlequins

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

Today’s match referee is Craig Evans from Wales. Craig began refereeing on the World Rugby Sevens Series in 2016. He has also refereed during the 2020 Olympics. He made his URC / Pro 14 refereeing debut in 2018,and was awarded his first Six Nations Championship match for the match between Italy and Ireland in the 2021 Six Nations Championship. He was appointed to the Tier One select group of referees in June 2021. 

Evans was voted Principality Premiership Referee of the Year in 2014 and went on to officiate at all Rugby Europe 7s tournaments as well as the Olympic qualifiers. He was previously a personal trainer before joining the WRU.

This will be his 17th time refereeing Leinster (his most of any team), where we have had 13 wins and 3 losses with Evans in charge. He last refereed us in Round 1 of the URC this season. He is assisted today by Adam Jones, Ben Breakspear and Keith David. We wish the team well today in what should be an entertaining game. On the Leinster Referee front Robbie Jenkinson is in Stade Rochelais with Andrew Brace in the middle.

The IRFU introduced the Tackle Behaviours Trial at the start of the 2023/24 season to reduce head contact risk in the community game. The legal tackle height was lowered to below the sternum, aligning with World Rugby’s global trial framework. The trial was delivered in collaboration with the provinces, clubs, and schools, and supported by academic research across three focus areas:

Injury Surveillance, Video Analysis and Stakeholder Engagement & Feedback. The Tackle Behaviours Trial, implemented across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, was designed to reduce the risk of head impacts and promote safer, more effective tackling by lowering the legal tackle height from the armpits to below the line of the sternum.

Comparing five pre-trial seasons to the two-season trial period, the IRFU recorded the following key results:

Concussion Rates

Men’s All-Ireland League (AIL): ↓ 33%

Women’s AIL: ↓ 18%

While significant decreases in concussion rates were observed in the Men’s and Women’s AIL, similar changes were not seen in the Schools’ SCT game. Following these findings, the IRFU and Provinces are committed to continuing to work with their schools to enhance education, tackle technique and player behaviours in our schools’ game.

Overall Injury Rates

Men’s AIL: ↓ 18%

Women’s AIL: ↓ 30%

Schools’ Senior Cup (SCT): ↓ 19%

Tackle-Related Injuries

Men’s AIL: ↓ 21%

Women’s AIL: ↓ 34%

Schools’ SCT: ↓ 10%

This is a great Step Forward for Safer, Smarter Rugby and something that we continually educate our referees on. 

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.