THE WHISTLETHE WHISTLEThe Newsletter of the Combined Services Rugby Referees LeagueThe Newsletter of the Combined Services Rugby Referees League

SocietySociety

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Editorial

Welcome to issue one of what I hope will be an integral development and communication outlet for all match officials within the society. I hope that this will provide the first of what I hope will be many methods of us improving communication throughout the society and in turn will help develop each and every one of us.

We are fortunate enough to have a development officer in Steve Davis who has pretty much half the country under his remit. This however doesn’t stop him from wanting to give us with a high quality of developmental support and this can initially be seen by all of you within the development notes he provides within this digest.

The society welcomes its first sponsor in EADS, a blue chip company heavily involved within the defence realm. We hope that they will be pleased with their association and that this is the beginning of a long lasting partnership.

This document is a work in progress, to be fine tuned as we go on. It is something we can all have input into. I like to think my own personal input into future will be significantly smaller as more of you, the society, take a lead in this.

This large issue covers many areas and will allow all of you, whether active or not, to whet your appetite for the season ahead.

Finally the picture across shows you just why I decided that I had enough playing. Just where have I got my hand, and what is going on to my rear?

Steve HoganSecretary CSRLRS

Index

Front Cover. The Corps nines 2006 at Harrogate with society members Paul Burrows, Jim Eckersley, Mark Brogan, Daz Work and Mick Ryan on duty.

2. Editorial3. Looking Back

Hellos and Farewells4. Points of Play – part One.5. CS World Cup

Sponsorship and FundingMajor Dates

6. CS Match Official of the YearSociety DevelopmentCode of ConductConstitutionArmy Rugby League dinnerMentoring

7. WebsiteFree ShirtsPoints of Play – part two

8. MTM – Steve Hogan10. MTM – Tony Butterfield12. MTM – Colin Evans

Steve "Chopper" Smallbone in action.

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Pre cup final preparation from Daz Work and Mark Brogan. Colonel Jeremy Bethell offers advice.

Looking Back

2007 has been a strange year. As with previous seasons commitments have left us short on the ground for match officials. This has meant some of our junior officials have been exposed to a much higher level than they should have been. With the return to action of some of our senior refs that will hopeful not happen

The season saw some junior officials stepping up and showing their mettle. Names include Marty Baker, Aidan Taylor and Tony Butterfill.

We once again officiated at all service levels being helped this year by a fragmented fixture list. Our lack of officials for the most part went unnoticed.

The quality of officiating rose this year. The performances in each of the major finals and interservice games demonstrated this. For the first time we employed 4th and interchange officials. We learnt from this that there was a need for a set of regulations which would ensure better behaviour from team benches and better control from ourselves. This is something we will do for all future major games. As can be seen in this document there will be a code of conduct for all levels of the game, which will be enforced from this season.

Hellos and Farewells

Welcome to all new officials from the Portsmouth and Catterick courses. Hopefully the societies members will provided you with the support and knowledge to encourage and guide you at this stage of your match officiating career and provide you with the development you require and desire.

Lt Col Jeremy Bethel retired recently and also retains membership. For those of you not in the know the CSRLRS was the brainchild of Colonel Bethel, the society’s first chairman. Without his initial guidance and direction we would not have had a constitution and the drive to get us up and running. Thankfully we will see him around at future events and if we get caught short numbers wise he will no doubt have his kit in his car!

Col Bethel awards CSRLRS Secretary Steve Hogan his only playing medal. Army rugby league nines secretary Bob Lovell gets his only one next! The society’s second chairman was Lt (RN) Nick Young. Unfortunately his commitments onboard have meant him being away quite a bit recently. Nick has decided to jump ship and join the civilian ranks. Very much involved, as naval director of refs prior to the chair, he provided the society with a good ref and a good fellow to boot. As with Colonel Jeremy, Nick will stay within the game upon his service retirement.

We also welcome back into the fold ex serving match officials such as previous Army director of referees

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Steve Postlethwaite and actively seek to get all our ex serving personnel back within the society.

Big congratulations go to Ian Curzon who is motoring up the pyramid and is now officiating at a fairly high level. He won’t thank me for telling you this but he has touch judged, ahem, Lokomotiv Moscow and Swinton!

Well done Ian, hopefully your work commitments will quieten down and you will be able to concentrate on your officiating and advance some more. What chance the first armed forces Touch Judge in Superleague!

Ian Curzon miles away from the action!

Points of Play – Part One

In this section we will look at issues that will affect us this coming season. The first point is an old classic and constantly comes back every time I officiate.

Taped up jewellery – The laws of the game are quite clear on this one. No person may participate in a game of

rugby league if they are wearing any piece of jewellery, be they a wedding or any other type of ring, necklace jewellery, facial piercing or any other type of jewellery such as bangles or charity bands.

From a personal point of view telling a player that he cannot play and then hearing him say, but it’s allowed in the Hull league cuts no ice. Believe me, if they say they can’t get the jewellery off

and you tell them they won’t be playing then I guarantee they will remove the offending article.

At the end of the day if they injure another person playing Rugby League and you have allowed them onto the pitch then YOU will be liable for any prosecutions. This isn’t just duty of care to them, it’s duty of care to yourself.

Dissent – Part of the satisfaction of refereeing is building up a two-way respect on field. Naturally we have to be careful so as not show any signs of over friendliness which in turn could lead to accusations of bias.

Since the advent of Super League the professional referees were given guidelines to build up first name onfield relationships with the players. Whilst this made better for controlling the game (it’s always easier to tell someone by name that you are watching them) it also engendered a scenario where some players took the personalisation as an excuse to openly question decisions. This was not stamped out and very soon we had players who weren’t being disciplined for overstepping the mark.

What this means to us can be seen in every game. Players now show frustration whereas ten years ago they would have bit their lips or immediately released they overstepped the mark and apologised. This seems to be more prevalent the higher level of competition we reach.

Dissent itself comes in many forms. As match officials we must keep an eye out for it and deal with it immediately. There is no place in Services Rugby League for any kind of dissent and it is to be dealt with in a draconian manner. It is up to us, the match officials, to decide upon the severity but anything considered foul and abusive, particularly where the offender does not refrain, should be

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dealt with by use of the Sin Bin or Dismissal from the field of play.

Controlling the bench – At present we only use 4th and interchange officials for finals/service representative games. This at this time only concerns those games. This season we will disseminate a code of practice to all teams regarding rules of the 4th official.

CS World Cup

The first CS world cup will take place in October/November of this year. The tournament will see up to ten different nations CS representative teams taking part. The final is due to be played as a curtain raiser for one of the main world cups semi finals.

We are in the process of hopefully selecting a match official from the society to represent us in this tournament.

This will be determined very quickly in the season. I attended a CS executive committee meeting where I enquired as to how much funding there is available to ensure there is minimal cost to our rep.

The feedback I got was encouraging. There is an aim for at the very least for one official with the possibility of more.

Naturally there will be disappointment to those who are not selected but I must point out we will only send a match official who will present the society in the best possible manner.

Those who miss out should understand that there will be other opportunities in the future where we can send our members on busman’s holidays.

I shall keep you all posted as to what happens and when.

Points of Play – Part Two

This season, during the major games where we have a full complement of match officials on duty we will be looking at using a new methodology behind the interchange of players on and off the field of play.

The following standard to be employed has been borrowed from the Leeds Match Officials Society and we thank them very much for this. The cards will be trialled and evaluated early in this season. From that we will hope to make them integral to our workings for the future.

Interchange Process 2007

1. Interchanges may take place during general play, after any scoring has been completed or when play has been temporarily suspended by the referee.

2. Interchanges cannot be made after the referee has ordered a scrum until after the scrum has been completed. This applies regardless of whether or not the referee has temporarily called time off or not. The player leaving the field may do so at anytime but the replacement cannot enter the field until the ball emerges from the scrum.

3. Each team will have a set of interchange cards that will be numbered 1 – 12.

4. It is the responsibility of each club to have these cards available for the interchange official at the start of each game. Each club will also be responsible for collecting and storing these cards after the game.

5. Before the commencement of the match, an official from each club should remove the cards from the folder and give the folder to the interchange official. The club official

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shall retain the cards on the bench for use during the match. The empty folder must be handed to the Interchange Official so that the cards can be replaced in the folder as each interchange is carried out. These will then be returned to the club official after the game.

6. As each interchange is to be made, the player going on to the field must report to the Interchange Official along with a club official who will carry the pitch display board. The club officials will display the number of the player who is to be withdrawn along with the number of the player who is going onto the field. Once the player who is to be withdrawn comes to the sideline the player going onto the field will give the card to the Interchange Official. The interchange cards should be handed over in sequential ascending numerical order (i.e. 1st interchange will hand over No. 1, 2nd Interchange will hand over No.2 etc. The last interchange player will hand over No.12)

7. If a player hands his card to the Interchange Official, but before he enters the field of play, it is decided not to proceed, the Interchange Official will hand the card back to the player so it can be used for the next interchange.

8. If a player reports to the Interchange Official without a card, he will be sent back to the bench to obtain a card before the interchange will be allowed to proceed. 9. As the interchange takes place, the Interchange official will hold up the number of the interchange given to him, to allow spectators to note the number of changes.

Sponsorship and Funding

As mentioned earlier we are proud to Welcome EADS as a partner to our society. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a relationship that proves to be successful to both parties.

EADS, a blue chip company with strong links to defence have provided us with a chance to develop our society. They are delighted to tie there name to the society and as such we reciprocate this.

Our sponsors will be our guests to many of the major events this season, such as the interservices and major cup finals. As such I hope that our members make them feel welcome and inspire them by there deeds and actions on and off the field of play.

The end of our funding from NAAFI VIP means that we will look at swapping shirts to include the EADS logo. This is of course related to how quick we can turn around the shirts.

One thing I ask all our members to do is seek society sponsorship through your contracts.

We will aim to build more partners to the society. Whilst there is room to build relationships we must not turn our shirts into something that resembles a formula one driver.

Associate Membership

Welcome to all ex serving personnel. Many of you will have originally been picked up through the mailshot.

One of the society aims to ensure that those who leave the services aren’t forgotten.

Major Dates 2008

This season we have a lot to look forward to in terms of fixtures. With

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the Lawson and Yeoman Cup revamps the Army has truncated its season. I envisage many more fixtures from units that normally wouldn’t entertain League due to their Union commitments.

A full list of presently known committed dates for fixtures can be found in the calendar attached to this.

The following are a list of tournaments that we provide match officials to.

Lawson CupCorps FriendliesTrafalgar CupTraining CampArmy 9’sEngineer GamesNavy 9’sRAF Inter station CupInter ServicesCS dates

The list of presently known dates can be found further within this newsletter.

CS Match Official of the Year

Many Congratulations to SAC Aidan Taylor who has been selected for the 07 award.

Aidan put in a big effort last year and both myself and Daz Work will vouch for the commitment he gave to the society.

A big pat on the back to 2006 winner Mark Brogan whose award will finally be presented at the next opportunity we will have.

A lot of congratulations must also go to those officials who helped ensure the seasons fixtures were met.

Society Development

This year we intend to hold our training and development day on 3rd June. This will be at Aldershot. The following day is the Army Rugby League nines tournament which allows

us two days of learning and officiating, making the trip to Aldershot Garrison worthwhile.Our development officer is Steve Davis who will be running the dev day. Numbers dependant will see if we can get someone down from HQ, so it is important that you can get yourself down to me.

I would like you all to let me know as soon as you can about your availability for this. Lets have a big show so we can make the most of this opportunity.

CS Match Officials Course

The next course will be on Monday 2nd

June at Aldershot. With that in mind I want all of you to start scouting for new recruits. The course preceeds the development day and nines tournament giving us the chance to have the newbies taught, trained and tested in an environment that won’t scare them away from the game.

Constitution

The society’s constitution has recently been upgraded to allow for a more defined approach with respect to discipline.

As a society the constitution binds us and allows for us to be run as our own entity.

The constitution can be found attached to this document.

Code of Conduct

There have been instances last season where there were lapses in players, coaches, spectators and even match officials’ behaviour which has lead to a requirement to define a code of conduct for each area.

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The idea to adhere to this will hopefully ensure that the lapses in discipline seen will not be repeated.

Army Dinner 2008

For those of us lucky enough to attend last season’s dinner it was a superb night. There were quite a few empty seats and I know Nav, the Army team manager would have been more than happy for match officials to fill these slots.

To that end I will look at the possibility of piggybacking the society onto the dinner if the Army Rugby League are kind enough to invite us.

Mentoring

To evolve and improve as a coach the old adage about practice making perfect can be considered a start. But, in order to provide outside help this season the senior referees alongside those who have finished refereeing will be given mentoring tasks.

Having a mentor looking after our junior match officials will allow for a faster development for them. For those at the middle range a mentor will assist in the ironing out of technical deficiencies and provide feedback.

Remember, even though its you on the pitch, you won’t be on your own.

Contact details

We now have a much updated database but it will already be out of date. That is because when you move your details change.

Can I ask you all, when you have a change of address to put us above JPA and your next of kin in letting us know what the differences are. We are you family and we care for you (where’s this going? ed) and we want to be able to appoint you to games but we may not have a clue where to send the transport clearance document.

Keep us in the loop and there will be no need to add your name to the Missing in Action list.Website and Sharepoint (Armynet)

Armynet website offers free hosting to its members and this may be an area

where we can use. A shared area will allow for uploading/downloading of match forms and the like.

Whilst it is mainly a site designed for Army personnel there are guest areas that can allow for our non-Army members to join.

I would like to canvass all of you to see if this is something you would find useful. Let me know. If any of you fancy running this area if we go ahead then put yourselves forward!

Free Shirts

Okay, you’ve heard the rumour. The RFL has managed to get sponsorship that will allow them to provide all active referees with a new shirt. Well done to the RFL for giving something to its officials. Details can be seen in the development officers section.

Missing in Action

Over the years many of our fellow officials have fallen away from the game, either through work, having left the services or even losing interest with the sport.

The society has been designed to include these fellows. If you know of anyone who used to be a match official and is now out of the loop let them know that the society exists and that we can provide them with membership of a society that will allow them to regain their love of match officiating and services rugby league.

This is the one time where naming names is acceptable. I would like to start by asking if we can find out the whereabouts of Taff Carter, Phil Loeb

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and John Hilton (All RE), Ian Allison (AGS) Al Prout (Corps unknown) and Sean Brennon (Karl, where is he now)?

I want all of us to add to this list. If you know of someone that was once involved then let them know about us.

This seasons important dates

As mentioned earlier, here are the presently known fixtures for this season.

Mar 11. RAC 9’s

Apr 2. Lawson Cup 1RAC v RLC (Bovington)REME v R Sigs (Arborfield)

Apr 23 Lawson Cup 2RA v REME (Larkhill)RLC v R Sigs (Aldershot)RE v RAC (Chatham)

May 15 Lawson Cup 1RE v RA (Salford)

May 21 Lawson Cup 3REME v RE (Arborfield)R Sigs v RAC (Blandford/York)RA v RLC (Larkhill)

Jun 4 Army 9’s

Jun 18 Lawson Cup SF 1Lawson Cup SF 2

Jul 16 Yeoman Cup Final

Jul 23 Lawson Cup FinalLawson Cup ¾

Sep 5 RAF v Army (Uxbridge)RAF v Army (U23)RAF v Army (Women)

Sep 17 Army v Navy (A/shot)Army v Navy (U23)Army v Navy (Women)

Sep 5 RN v RAF (Pompey)RN v RAF (U23)RN v RAF (Women)

Oct 4 ARL Dinner (played around a 1st team game at A/Shot)

Nov 22 CS World Cup final(Sydney)

So you now have a list of dates which you need to put in your diaries. You can now plan and proactively let me know you are free.

I am soon to receive from Gary Pearson, Director of Refs for the RAF, that section of fixtures and hopefully we can integrate the RN station fixtures into this list for the next issue.

And Finally!

We end this issue, slightly later than promised that it is, with two sections which I believe will become absolutely essential within this newsletter in future editions.

In the next couple of pages we introduce our development officer and he brings us news from Red Hall, the RFL headquarters. This is an area where we, the match officials outside the heartlands, can gain information that would normally not be fed down to us.

The final section I hope will allow our various geographically dispersed members the opportunity to meet each other.

I will ask for everyone to take the template of the next couple of pages and complete their own self review. Take it as chance to have a light hearted look at ourselves.

I hope you are all a bit luckier than myself as you may have noticed that the camera truly doesn’t lie with me, it takes a crap picture every time!

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Our society is supported by Steve Davis who is lucky enough to have virtually everything South of Sheffield under his remit. Steve is no stranger to us and we have be fortunate enough to have him officiate the inter services tournament on many occasions.

In this section we give Steve the chance to give us information on what is presently going on in the world of Rugby League and also the chance to build on the relationship with the London referees society of which he is also a fervent supporter.

Law Changes

The 2008 season has begun, and the professional game will see the introduction of a number of law changes that will provide the referee’s best friend and Sky commentator “Stevo” a great opportunity to show his ignorance at the beginning of the Super League season.

In aid of his ambitions to become UK sports television’s most fact-less commentator, we have included these new law changes so those of you who watch fixtures at home can continue the institution that is, “Mock the Presenter”.

1. At the play the ball, defending players other than the markers must have both feet in line or behind those of the referee when retreating the 10 metres. If the attacking team is within 10 metres of the goal-line, then defenders must have both feet on or behind the goal-line. As always, defenders may move forwards once the ball has passed the heel of the man playing the ball.

The restarting team will now have the head and feed at the resulting scrum, to

a ball bouncing into touch that was immediately kicked at the 20 metre optional kick (tap).

3. At the scrum, the ball will be considered to have left the scrum once passing the feet of the second row of forwards. At this point, forwards may

break from the scrum, and defending backs may move forwards.

4. A penalty try will no longer be awarded against a team that whilst in their own in-goal area, has illegally stolen the ball from an opposing player. The resulting penalty will now be awarded in line with the offence, 10 metres from the goal-line.

These law changes are only included in the professional game, while awaiting the introduction into the amateur game.

They are to be used in all Armed Forces games with immediate effect.

Match Officers appointments

In the last year, the RFL have appointed four Match Official Development Officers regionally throughout Britain. They are:

Paul Carr Yorkshirepaul.carr@rfl.uk.com

Peter Brooke North Westpeter.brooke@rfl.uk.com

Peter Wharton Cumbria, North East & Scotlandpeter.wharton@rfl.uk.com

Steve Davis Midlands, South & Walessteve.davis@rfl.uk.com

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DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS PAGE

Their combined objective is to have every game of Rugby League refereed by a suitably qualified official, focusing on recruitment, retention and development.

Self Development

Development modules can be found on the RFL website link:http://www.therfl.co.uk/about/page.php?id=252&areaid=54

These modules include Touch Judging, positioning, communication as well as a whole number of different training aids, developed to keep you up to date and improve your skills as a Match Official.

Steve and his team of match officials prior to an inter services game at the United Services Sports Ground, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth.

RLC 2008

The 2008 RLC season is set to commence at the end of April. Once again, there will be plenty of games needing officials nationwide. If you wish to be appointed to RLC games this season, then you need to get in touch with your local DO or David Lowe david.lowe@rfl.uk.com as soon as possible.

London Society

The London RLMO Society will be running development sessions once a month and welcome any members of the Combined Services society to join them. These nights are a run in a relaxed environment and include updates from Red Hall and Carnegie, points of play, development sessions and Q&A. The next session will be run at South-Bank University, London on Wednesday 27th February 7.30pm start.

For information on development sessions in your local area, then contact your local DO.

London RL

The London RL website has been revamped in time for 2008. This site will be utilised by the London society for appointments, stories, important dates etc. It is a fabulous site, and definitely worth a visit @ www.londonrl.com

New Shirts

As previously mooted each active referee/touch judge will be issued with a shirt complimentary of the RFL.

These shirts will be sent by Steve to me and I will then distribute them to our societies officials.

This will ensure, with the hopeful run of EADS sponsored replacement jerseys, that each match official should have a change of shirt in games where a team decides that their colours should include yellow and black!

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MEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERSMEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERS

Steve HoganSteve Hogan

Age: Age: 3737Service: Service: Army, Royal SignalsArmy, Royal SignalsTrade: Trade: Foreman of SignalsForeman of Signals

(Information Systems)(Information Systems)Station: Station: DE&S ISS, CorshamDE&S ISS, CorshamHometown: Hometown: Eccles, SalfordEccles, SalfordTeam: Team: Salford City RedsSalford City Reds

Major Games:Major Games:RAF v Army URAF v Army U23 3 Royal Navy v Army URoyal Navy v Army U23 3 WESB Cyprus v Lebanon UWESB Cyprus v Lebanon U233CS Women v GB StudentsCS Women v GB StudentsBritish Army Germany v RAF GermanyBritish Army Germany v RAF GermanyBFG v French Army (TJ)BFG v French Army (TJ)Lawson Cup Final (TJ)Lawson Cup Final (TJ)ESB Cyprus v Lebanon UESB Cyprus v Lebanon U23 (TJ) 3 (TJ)

1. What got you into Rugby League match officiating

Believe it or not, I really had no choice. When the game began in the forces in the early nineties I was stationed in Krefeld, Germany. Refs were few on the ground and we were lucky enough to have Jason Grant (CS Womens and Army U23’s mens coach) rig up a referees course in Paderborn.

The course lasted a week, as opposed to the one day course nowadays. As it was, and still is, many of those on the course were also players and coaches and kit washers and fixtures secretaries rolled into one, myself included.

Needless to say I found myself refereeing more than playing.

I must say though that getting into match officiating wasn’t so I could have mug shots like the one opposite!

2. Why Rugby League

I come from a Rugby League area but was always a footballer. I would look out for Salford’s results in the local rag out of interest but football was my first sport.

After joining the army I was sent to Germany as a first posting. Whilst on leave I was invited to a friend to go and watch Salford. This was my first game and I was instantly hooked.

3. 3. What have been your highlights so far

The trip to Cyprus wasn’t too bad in July 07! Refereeing the Lebanon under 23 national team in the red hot early evening heat was quite special.

Playing wise I was an army plate winner and very nearly got the chance to represent British Army Germany against RAF Germany that is until the ref didn’t show up!

4. What are your goals for officiating in 2008

My main focus is on ensuring that all fixtures are met by service personnel. After that it is rebuilding the society and actually using it correctly, that is as a focal point for all its members.

Officiating wise I have yet to officiate in a Yeoman or Lawson Cup final. I need to ensure that I keep a high standard if I am to get selected for either one!

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5. Any funny momentsIn rugby league I have been fortunate enough to have seen some very funny things. I remember one player standing up to play the ball, but facing his own team. I got a tackle wrong once and caught a knee in the meat. First and last time I put the ball into the scrum one handed, other hand cupping the old boy!

6. Best team reffed

I will probably need to say the Engineers for this one, they have been head and shoulders playing wise above everyone else. They can soak up enormous amounts of pressure and frustrate a side before showing a level of effort that has yet to be matched.

7. Rule you would change

I am actually thinking towards a rugby union rule. In league when a ball is kicked touch in-goal the restart is at the twenty metre point. Some teams (St Helens anyone?) use this tactic to slow down their opposition with long punts.

The present law allows for a negative kick to be rewarded with a restart that allows the kicking teams defence a controlled setup and restart. I would advocate using the scrum back law in Union which forces such a kick to be restarted with a scrum from the originating point of the kick.

Of course to modify it for league we would need to have a controlled handover on if the kick was on the sixth tackle. Any dead in-goal kick inside the twenty metres would be restarted as usual with the twenty metre restart.

8. Do you ref/intend to ref in the civilian sphere

Probably not this year. Work commitments and studying for my Masters degree are taking up pretty much all of my time.

I think my next chance to ref on the civvy circuit will involve the summer conference and the student rugby league arena.

9. What advice would you give to a newcomer

Listen to every piece of advice you can. Try being yourself, there is nothing worse than a clone of another ref. Part of the fun is showing your personality on the field of play.

Finally be honest. Know what level you are and what you should expect. Set goals for the season and make them realistic. Set them high if you wish, just ensure you put them within reach so as not to disappoint yourself.

10. Any strange superstition

No, although I never take a coin on the pitch and use a hidden pen in one hand for the toss.

11. 11. How do you prepare for a match

Other than the usual routine of getting directions to the ground using Street Map and Google Earth I tend to play the game through my mind the evening prior. This can be a pain as it tends to keep me awake the night before.

I do take the precaution of packing my bag well in advance and my OCD helps because I tend to unpack my bag and repack it more than one extra occasion.

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MEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERSMEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERS

Tony ButterfillTony Butterfill

Age: Age: 3737Service: Service: Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceTrade: Trade: RAF Regiment GunnerRAF Regiment GunnerStation: Station: RAF Halton, AylesburyRAF Halton, AylesburyHometown: Hometown: Brighton, SussexBrighton, SussexTeam: Team: Bradford BullsBradford Bulls

Major Games:Major Games:Army Cup Final (4Army Cup Final (4thth Off) Off)RAF Cup Final (TJ)RAF Cup Final (TJ)RAF v Army URAF v Army U23s (TJ)3s (TJ)Royal Navy v Army URoyal Navy v Army U23s (TJ)3s (TJ)RAF v Royal Navy U23s (TJ)RAF v Royal Navy U23s (TJ)CS Women v GB Students (TJ)CS Women v GB Students (TJ)

1. What got you into Rugby League match officiating

I never had any intention of becoming an official. To be honest it was the last thing on my mind when I took my coaching course. I was a bit annoyed I had to stay around for the extra couple of days.

But as my legs started to let me down and injuries started to take longer to get over I decided it was about time I started to put something back into this great game.

It was during this period I received a call from the RAF fixtures secretary looking for a touch judge for the RAF Inter Station Cup Final. After dusting of my rulebook and loads of panic reading I decided to give it go.

This was closely followed by a call from Daz Works and a busy Inter Services followed which I thoroughly enjoyed. A lot more than I ever thought!!!!

2. Why Rugby League

Being from the south coast I had never heard of Rugby League apart from watching Bradford Northern run about caked in mud on Grandstand, So football was my first sport. After joining the RAF I experimented with a bit of Kick and Clap but always returned to Football.

It was during a tour at our depot at RAF Honington in 95, when Stn sport was becoming very clicky (sound Familiar??) I was bullied into playing Rugby League by Sgt Geordie Taylor (now NE Development Officer). I had never heard anyone talk with so much passion about a sport before so I thought I would give it a go.

I started playing 2nd Row and soon got selected for the RAF Development Squad.

I enjoyed 2 seasons playing Inter Services before my body gave up the Ghost. Having received comments from my wife like “Either give it up or stop bloody moaning about your shoulder”, I decided to call it a day on the playing front.

3. What have been your highlights so far

As a player it has to be being selected to represent the RAF at Development level and winning the RAF Inter Station Cup in 95. Being very new to officiating it has to be this years Inter Services. I was extremely nervous before the Navy v RAF game but watching and listening to the

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Is it me or does he bear an uncanny resemblance to Graham Norton?

experience of Daz Works and Steve Hogan really helped me gain confidence in what I was doing.

4. What are your goals for officiating in 2008

My main focus is moving from the touchline into the middle. I plan to get more involved this year and gain experience and hopefully develop into a competent referee.

5. Any funny moments

You must have seen me play !!! I spent half a season running around the pitch like a flanker before someone told me I was doing it wrong.

6. Best team reffed

To be honest, I’ve never reffed a game yet !!! Hopefully this will change with the new season.

7. Rule you would change

None !!! As a southerner it has taken me so long to get a grip the current rules. It’s so easy for all you northerners who have grown up playing the game, so please don’t change a thing…….. Yet !!!!

8. Do you ref/intend to ref in the civilian sphere

I doubt it. I intend to spend my time within the Combined Services moving into the middle from the touchline.

9. What advice would you give to a newcomer

As a newcomer myself. The best advice I would give is get involved in a society as soon as possible. I have learnt so much in such a short period

of time due to the experienced officials I have had the privilege to work with.

10. Any strange superstition

No.

12. 11. How do you prepare for a match

A bit of panic reading of the rule book, turn up far to early and I always forget to eat !!!

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MEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERSMEET THE SOCIETY MEMBERS

Colin EvansColin Evans

Age: Age: 4343Service: Service: Royal NavyRoyal NavyTrade: Trade: SubmarinerSubmarinerStation: Station: DSTL FarnboroughDSTL FarnboroughHometown: Hometown: Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-FurnessTeams: Teams: St Helens & BarrowSt Helens & Barrow

Border RaidersBorder Raiders

Major Games: Major Games: Scotland v Ireland (Amateur Scotland v Ireland (Amateur International)International)Scotland v HMS SplendidScotland v HMS SplendidRoyal Navy v Prison ServiceRoyal Navy v Prison ServiceRoyal Navy v Chorley PanthersRoyal Navy v Chorley PanthersRoyal Navy v BARLARoyal Navy v BARLARoyal Marines v RAFRoyal Marines v RAF

1. What got you into Rugby League match officiating?

It was through a certain Mr Clive (Perry) Mason who heard that I was keen to give it a try, and has been my mentor (and tormentor) ever since.

2. Why Rugby League?

I was born and bred into RL, and from an early age my Uncle George was constantly either taking to play or to watch games every week

3. What have been your highlights so far?

Without doubt was refereeing the Scotland v Ireland game, I was deeply honoured to be asked to officiate and a

great game to be involved in on the day.

4. What are your goals for officiating in 2008?

After nearly 2 years out of the game due to work commitments/injury and relocation to Farnborough, I’m keen just to pick up the whistle and get “out there “again.

5. Any funny moments

The game where HMS Splendid played Scotland came about completely by accident, I’d been helping to coach the team for 6 weeks and the guys were keen to play a competitive match, so I arranged for them to play against a local team from Glasgow, unfortunately when we arrived their coach (Who was also a coach for the Scotland team) had arranged for the Scotland team to train on the same pitch, so he offered the guys the chance to play against the national team! The guys faces when the Scottish team emerged from the dressing room is something I’ll remember for a long time, in the end they did do themselves proud being only beaten 80-6 (when they scored, the whole team took off on a lap of honour)

6. Best team reffed – fairplay

Without doubt the BARLA team that played the Navy the day before the challenge cup final in Edinburgh, on that day they produced one of the most clinical games of rugby I have ever witnessed, they played with such power and precision it was awesome.

7. Rule you would change

None really

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Colin made the mistake of not

sending a picture.

Don’t you make the

Same Mistake!

8. Do you ref/intend to ref in the civilian sphere

With moving to Farnborough, I’ve not had time to make any contacts down here, but given the opportunity yes I would

9. What advice would you give to a newcomer?

Listen to the other referee’s, take in the advise that they are sure to offer, but be your own man. On the pitch talk to the players but never discuss a decision with them (only the Captains) a laugh can go a VERY long way in diffusing a tense situation and above all, enjoy it that’s why we do it

10. Any strange superstitionNo

11. How do you prepare for a match?Generally, the night before I’ll make sure my kit is packed and ready to go, get to the venue about 2hrs before the game and walk the pitch, try and speak the groundsman, 1hr before kick off I’ll warm up then I’ll speak to the coaches and teams (separately) on what I expect to happen on the pitch

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