Thanks to the partnership between the Queensland Rugby Referees Association and the Capital Rugby Union (CRU), Referees from the Capital Competition have undergone a four days coaching clinic held recently at the Stanley hotel to enhance and build the capacity of local referees.
The Queensland Rugby Referees Association (QRRA) is the peak rugby match official body in the state of Queensland, Australia and for quite some time now, have been collaborating with the CRU over a few years, mostly in assistance to officiate high profile matches such as the CRU’s Grand Finals.
This is the first education pathway that both partners have engaged in, with local Referees going through Level 1 World Rugby Match officials program. World Rugby and QRRA trainer/educator Callum Robertson, who will be here for rugby pathways and education of the referees and coaches, stated that for the training that the referees will go through is to get the best out of the game and of the players.
“We’ve kind of tapered it a little bit to sort of referee ready (Clinic). Because we have got quite a few guys that have yet to start refereeing, but we’ve also got quite a few senior guys at the back.”
Robertson explained that going through the training, local referees went through the management toolkit, handling the foul play process and set piece & positioning. He said there was much enthusiasm shown by the group and was happy with their overall participation.
“Their very smart in terms answering questions, but getting the confidence to speak up in front of everyone is a thing in the way.”
Robertson stated that this is much like a pilot program for CRU and QRRA and hopes for many more to come. Robertson was on the field this weekend to assess referees in action during the Pepsi Cup Capital Rugby Union Competition.