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DORSET & WILTS
RUGBY REFEREES

Dorset & Wilts Referee Information Pack

Improving and Grading

Appointments
Expectations
Improving & Grading
Communication
Kit
Assistant Refereeing

How can I improve as a referee within the Society?

Any referee who considers that they cannot improve is fooling themselves and doing the players and the game a disservice. The types of support come in three main forms (not entirely distinct), ‘self’, ‘other people’ and ‘other resources’.

Self

Ultimately, only one person can improve your refereeing and that’s you. Here are some possible methods for doing it. They obviously overlap with other people and resources.

  1. Before the game, think about what went well and not so well in your last game. Set 2-3 objectives for yourself for the next game (e.g. to clearly and concisely explain why the whistle went). You might commit them to paper as an aide memoire for when you arrive at the game. Even consider placing it in your score card or written on the inside of one wrist.
  2. During the game, split it up into ten/fifteen/twenty-minute sections. When there is ‘down time’ ask yourself what ‘challenges’ the game is giving you, where are the problem areas and what should you do about them? Particularly do this at half time.
  3. After the game, spend a couple of minutes thinking about your initial thoughts on what went well, what not so well? How did you do on your own objectives? Did you manage to analyse and do something about the ‘challenges’ you thought the game was giving you?
  4. Over time, you might develop longer term planning objectives for yourself which span, e.g. half a season, by the end of the season, next season.

Other People

Consulting others, who’s opinions and judgement you trust can be invaluable to provide alternative views and ideas.

  1. Mentors – you can choose to be allocated a ‘Mentor’ – another Society member who will take responsibility for assisting you for the initial period of your membership and help you solve any problems you might have (we all do!!)
  2. Developers – these are people (usually retired, experienced or temporarily injured referees) who will be appointed to come and observe a specific game and offer you advice (usually 2 or 3 key points) post-match, plus a written report.
  3. Coaches – you may be allocated a referee coach. They take responsibility for a small number of referees each season to help accelerate their development. Like developers they will attend matches across the season to provide observations and suggestions for improvement.
  4. Players, coaches and spectators – It is always worth talking to them. Whilst you might not agree with them, it’s better to hear it and then decide what to make of it than never to hear it in the first place. Ask them how they saw things. Start with general ‘open’ questions like ‘how did you think the game went?’ If you had a particular objective for yourself (we hope you did!!), you might ask about their view of it, e.g. ‘how did you think the ‘tackle’ went?’ Be prepared for differences of opinion about your refereeing. If you don’t agree with something said about your refereeing, don’t be confrontational about it. You might briefly explain how you saw the situation/incident/phase of play, perhaps add something like ‘thanks for the comment, I’ll bear it in mind’. If someone is openly hostile, try to withdraw yourself from the conversation and talk to others. If they would like to provide feedback they can do so by competing the form on the society website <link>.
  5. Other referees – The society holds monthly training evenings during the season <link> specifically designed to help and support you. These can be an invaluable opportunity to talk to other referees and ask questions. For the first few meetings of the season new referees are usually invited to attend 30 minutes before the regular meeting to share their issues and questions.

Other Resources

  1. Video of Games – Many clubs now video their games for training purposes, often using the veo system, many are happy to share these with the referee, it’s always worth asking politely. These can be useful to assess your decision making, positioning and other aspects of your performance. You can find other community games on YouTube, and elite games can be found on various TV offerings. Bear in mind there are differences between refereeing community and elite matches. Elite referees have been known to say that it is easier to referee at the top level as the players sort themselves out and there is much more structure (as long as you can keep up!).
  2. Live games – If you find yourself without an appointment at the weekend you can always visit your local club to watch one of your colleagues in action. They will always appreciate seeing a friendly face. You could even offer to run touch to get a closer view of the action (as a touch judge only, you can only be an assistant referee if you’ve been appointed as such)
  3. Online – There are many useful resources to be found online
    1. RFU – Keep Your Boots On!
    2. World Rugby – Introduction to Match Officiating
    3. World Rugby – Introduction to Assistant Refereeing
    4. NZ Rugby – Rugby Toolbox
    5. rugbyreferee.net
    6. Various YouTube, Instagram and podcast accounts
  4. Books – There are a number of books and autobiographies about refereeing, some examples include:
    1. Better Rugby Refereeing, Ed Morrison and Derek Robinson, ISBN 978-0955590108
    2. Rugby: a Referee’s Guide, Ed Morrison and Derek Robinson, ISBN 978-0002187541
    3. The Final Whistle, Nigel Owens, ISBN 978-1912631315
    4. Throwing the Book, Wayne Barnes, ISBN 978-1408719541
    5. Rugby Has F***ing Laws, Not Rules: A Guided Tour Through Rugby’s Bizarre Law Book, Paul Williams, ISBN 978-1913538668
  5. CPD Courses – The RFU offer a number of low cost courses, usually delivered during the evening at your local club, covering specifics like the scrum and lineout. These can provide a referee with insight in to what the players are being coached to do. Courses can be found using the GMS course finder.
  6. Training with a Club – Your local rugby club may be amenable to having you attend mid-week training. You can get to practice your positioning, improve your fitness and learn what teams are coaching their players to do. They can get a referees point of view on what they’re trying to achieve and have the chance for more realistic training scenarios.

Grading

Referees are graded to ensure that they are allocated to games that are within their ability to referee and where appropriate, will stretch and develop their abilities.

Rugby matches that fall under the administration of the RFU are given grades from level 1 to level 12:

LevelAppointed ByLeague TypesD&W Leagues & Competitions
1National PanelPremiership Rugby
2National PanelRFU Championship
3National PanelNational League 1
4National PanelNational League 2
BUCS Premier National
5South West Match Official GroupRegional 1
BUCS Premier Regional		Regional 1 South Central
6CB Referee SocietyRegional 2
BUCS Tier 1 Men		Regional 2 Tribute Severn
7CB Referee SocietyCounties 1
Schools Rugby U18
BUCS Tier 1 Women
BUCS Tier 2 Men		Counties 1 Tribute Southern South
1st XV Senior Cup
8CB Referee SocietyCounties 2
U18 Boys
U18 Girls
BUCS Tier 2 Women
BUCS Tier 3		Counties 2 Tribute Dorset & Wilts
1st XV Senior Vase
2nd XV Senior Cup
Colts Merit Table
9CB Referee SocietyCounties 3
Women's NC1		Counties 3 Tribute Dorset & Wilts
Women's NC1 South West
1st XV Senior Plate
2nd XV Senior Shield
3rd XV Senior Cup
10CB Referee SocietyCounties 4
Women’s NC2
U16 Girls
U16 Boys		Dorset & Wilts Matrix
Women’s NC 2 South West
GRFU U16 Girls
U16 (Cup/Plate/Bowl)
11CB Referee SocietyCounties 5
Women’s NC3
U15 Boys		Women's NC 3 South West
U15 (Cup/Plate/Bowl)
12CB Referee SocietyU14 Girls
U14 Boys		U14 Schools
U14 (Cup/Plate/Bowl)

The society appoints to matches within the CB for level 6 and below.

Your grade is decided by the grading committee, who normally meet twice per season, but can make interim promotions as appropriate. Promotion to higher levels is based on reports from developers and feedback from coaches, appointers and website forms.

Your grade is based on your refereeing proficiency and fitness relative to the speed of play of the matches at the grading level.

Your grade may include a star e.g. 9*, this means that the committee believe that you are close to attaining the next level, with some specific improvement. It is expected that you should reach the next grade within a season, if you do not the star modifier may be removed.

We are a forward thinking Society and are actively looking to increase the number of referees available to cover the games throughout the Counties and support new referees to accomplish the highest standard possible at whichever grade they reach.

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Images

Images are used on this site with permission from their creators.

Thanks to:

Simon Folkard

Roger Rhymes

Marc Bolwell

Nick Perry

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