Rugby referees are exposed to a lot of negative comment, especially if they don’t make decisions in favour of the team we support, so how do we attract youngsters to the game and convince them to put themselves in that same spotlight?
The South African Rugby Union has come up with a novel idea that addresses that very need, which they have dubbed Shadow the Referee. For those of you who have been following South African Rugby, you would have noticed a “mini-me” referee running onto the field at each break in play, fully dressed up as a referee and offering the match day referee a cold drink. This is no random kid selected purely for the heck of it.
This program is only open to young referees who are registered with one of South Africa’s 14 provincial Rugby Unions as a referee and must be currently active in their refereeing circle. They are randomly selected based on where a game is being played and join the match day referee two hours before the game starts for pre-match preparation, meeting the two captains and both teams. Each Shadow gets a full referee kit, as well as an updated rule book as part of their experience.
The advantages of this program are numerous, but can be encapsulated in the exposure each junior referee gets to a big game environment before they eventually get to that point in their own refereeing career. The experience is also intended to keep young referees motivated and engaged in officiating the game. You never know… the next junior ref you see running onto the field at a break in play might just be the next Craig Joubert or Jonathan Kaplan.
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