Whistle while you work
You love rugby, but perhaps your playing days are done; you’ve had one too many injuries, or you’ve come to the realisation that you won’t be getting the call up for the All Blacks since your 40th birthday. Maybe, you love the game but like your high school prom date, you never really clicked enough to make it long lasting. Believe it or not, this doesn’t have to be the end of your relationship with rugby.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it until the final whistle – we cannot get the players on the field without that person in the middle calling the shots. The one that’s responsible for keeping games fair and clean, the one who (believe it or not) will know the laws better than your half back.
James Munro’s refereeing origin story is unique; playing for his St Andrews College team, the second half was suddenly without a referee. Having recently collected a few NCEA credits from a referee course, Munro offered to change from his team jersey to being called “sir” for the rest of the game. Apparently, he did a marvellous job as the opposing teams coach was on the phone to CRFU’s Game Developer - Match Officials suggesting Munro take up refereeing more permanently.
Now, across an 18 year period Munro has over 130 premier, multiple Heartland, NPC (including a Ranfurly Shield) and assistant referee Super Rugby games under his belt.
“The beauty of refereeing is there is so many aspects to it” says Munro, “the extra benefits are so wide … management skills and communications skills that will benefit maybe your career or personal life or your wellbeing. It’s a good challenge and there’s really good support”.
On the other side of the coin is Brett Hancox, who played 230 senior games for Saracens before picking up the whistle in 2024. “I wanted to give back” said Hancox, “it was time to give up playing, but I didn’t want to give it all away”.
Refereeing Year 7/8 and Junior Boys games, Hancox also assistant refereed for several senior games, including the North Canterbury Stags V Ellesmere Development, “I didn’t expect to get any rep rugby games” said Hancox “I think having a rugby background really helped, you can read the player a bit better”.
Despite not being part of one of the teams on the field you’re certainly not alone as a referee, with regular meetings and trainings session, “It’s usually lead by an expert person that’s brought in to upskill people, broached in a way that’s relevant to all levels,” said Munro.
“The other refs, they’ve all got your back and help you through different things” said Hancox, “When I was assistant refereeing the seniors, I would have both teams come and have good chats after the game. More people will come talk to you when you’re a ref.”
With only positive experiences to speak of throughout his first year of refereeing, Hancox highly recommends others to get involved, “Just do it. A lot of people step back and say they couldn’t do it, but just give it a go. It’s pretty cool,” said Hancox.
If Munro and Hancox have inspired you, click here to learn more about how you can get involved with refereeing in 2025.
Words by Hannah Yates