Young Match Officials taking the rugby ref plunge

The complex world of rugby refereeing is opening new doors to talented youngsters across the region with a superb initiative from the Devon Rugby Referees Society.

Young Match Officials are being encouraged to take up the scheme and learn the intricacies of officiating in this special sport.

The Society mission statement says: “We have been working hard behind the scenes to recruit the next generation of referees. These youngsters are just starting their careers with the whistle and are beginning to referee fixtures around the county.

“Our Young Match Officials (YMO’s) are easily identifiable with their purple match shirts or their orange match shirts. Our YMO Co-ordinator Scotty has been with Society for a number of years and really does love his rugby!

“If you’d like to become a YMO or want more information and you’re under 18, please get your responsible adult to contact us on membership@devonrrs.co.uk”

One of those taking full advantage of the opportunity to pursue a different sporting career is 15 year-old Harvey Crocker, who attends Mount Kelly School in Tavistock and previously played rugby for Okehampton.

Alongside his passion for rugby, Harvey is a talented rider in showjumping events, but found his participation curtailed by a serious injury sustained just under a year ago.

From this moment of sporting pain and disappointment, Harvey took the chance to embark on a different career with the whistle in hand.

“I’ve been refereeing since I broke my arm in November last year while on the horses,” said Harvey. “It was a pretty bad break, so I haven’t played rugby since then.

“I fell off my pony when showjumping and snapped both bones in my forearm. I’m not sure if and when I will play rugby again, but I am back riding.

“I’ve played rugby from the age of around six and always used to be the lad who dads would dread refereeing because I knew all the rules. I started off as a fly half because I was good at reading the game and then moved to flanker.

“My family are huge rugby fans, I’ve watched hours and hours of the game, so I’ve got to know all the rules. We’ve always had Six Nations tickets and watch every game we can on TV.

“I’ve always been keen on the idea of refereeing and when I broke my arm, I still wanted to be a part of the sport, so I took the course with Devon Rugby and started off refereeing a junior game at Okehampton Rugby Club, where I used to play.

“I was still wearing a cast at the time and fairly rapidly progressed up the age groups, also refereeing some women’s games. Devon Rugby really started to push me to take on more games and it was obviously a lot easier when the cast came off.

“I moved on to a couple of men’s games through my mum organising it. Devon Rugby have now really taken me under the wing because they know I want to do it properly.

“It has been a jump to men’s rugby and a lot of the players probably look at me as ‘just a 15 year-old’ at the start of the game, but as soon as I put them in order, they click on to the message.

“Refereeing in rugby is about constant communication and I enjoy that element because I’m the person in control of the game. With rugby refereeing, you’ve really got to stick to your guns and not be distracted by players disagreeing with decisions.”

Like any sporting pathway, the journey to the top is never easy, and Harvey is taking on two challenges at once, pursuing his showjumping at the same time as learning the ropes as a referee.

“I would love to continue refereeing into adulthood and it works well with the riding because rugby is a winter sport and riding is in the summer,” he said. “There are some clashes at this time of year but not too much that we can’t work around it.

“I show jump at events and managed to qualify my second horse at the Badminton grassroots competition, which is a massive achievement for me. Riding and rugby work well together, and I hope that continues.”