The whistleblowers under the spotlight

Matthew Luddington talks to two referees at the lower end of the game about the trials of taking charge of a match

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IN TODAY'S digital age, referees are under more scrutiny than ever before. Rassie Erasmus' Twitter attacks on officials have undermined rugby's traditional notion of respecting referees' decisions on and off the field.

Graham Henry questioned the integrity of referee Wayne Barnes' performance in New Zealand's World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in 2007, leading to Barnes receiving death threats and being voted the third most hated man in New Zealand that year behind Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

A spotlight is now placed on every contentious decision, and opinion on individual referees and the standard of officiating is increasingly polarised in professional rugby However, away from the headlines, thousands of referees work tirelessly all year round upholding the integrity and fairness of amateur rugby across the country.

What drives these unsung heroes behind the whistle? Level 7 referee Will Foster first picked up the whistle while still at school, and has been refereeing community rugby for almost a decade.

Foster's reflections on the demands of balancing officiating with per sonal commitments underscore the dedication required to excel.

He said: "I started refereeing club games at my local club Chelmsford and it was only when I got involved with the society aged 17 that I started doing school games.

"Most of the training that referees do normally is unofficial, although we have training meetings as a society, we have specific sessions for match officials, the first one I went to Luke Pearce came along and presented which was pretty good.