Opinion: Why the rock-bottom moment was needed
The decline in referees isn’t a problem for the Rugby Southland Referees organisation to deal with on its own. It’s a problem the wider rugby community needs to sort out.
Opinion: Southland rugby - maybe even Southland sport - probably needed the rock-bottom type of moment that’s played out over the past week.
I’m aware the poor folk at Rugby Southland HQ - who have had to mop up the mess - will have just spat out their cornflakes reading that suggestion.
In a bit, I’ll explain the thinking behind why something good will, or at least should, come from this.
But first, here’s the background for those new to this story.
Southland’s rugby referees took unprecedented action last week in an attempt to halt what is said to be an increasing level of abuse.
Saturday’s Bluff v Pioneer senior Division One game did not go ahead. The Rugby Southland Referees Association chose not to send a referee.
That decision followed concerns raised from a Division One match seven days earlier between Bluff and Tokanui.
It appears a Bluff supporter went rogue in Tokanui on June 7 through his unwanted antics on the sidelines.
The Bluff Rugby Club has acknowledged one of its supporters was removed from the field after directing offensive language at the referee.
After the final whistle, the same individual returned and again confronted the referee, using offensive language while alleging biased and racist behaviour.
Bluff states that on both occasions, its team captain and a senior player intervened immediately, and the individual left without resistance.
“We are proud of how our players responded in the moment.”
There are differing opinions as to how others, both players and spectators, also conducted themselves.
But what we do know is the referee copped abuse and intimidation that day, and no one should have to put up with - certainly not a volunteer referee.
It wasn’t an isolated incident throughout Southland.
The Rugby Southland Referees Association took a stand and did not send a referee to Bluff’s next scheduled game.
As a result, Rugby Southland staff have had to devote hours to sorting this situation, all on the back of unnecessary poor behaviour.
But here is why I think some good will come from this.
Sometimes, a shock moment is needed to change things.
For years, I’ve been writing about declining referee numbers in Southland and outlining what that might mean for the future of rugby. It’s a message that can be translated to many sports.
The Rugby Southland Referees organisation has worked hard on its recruitment, but association chairman Andrew Rowland says referee abuse has been the biggest barrier to its recruitment drive.
In 2022, Rowland put me on to a nice story about one of its new referees, Chris Abey.
Abey openly admitted he had been verbally abusive to referees at his teenage son’s rugby games.
That was before his son told him one day that he had had enough and did not want his dad at an upcoming semifinal.
That hurt.
Abey’s son also told him to walk the talk and take up refereeing. So, he did.
He took up refereeing and also became an advocate for improving sideline behaviour.
It was a heart-warming story that captured a bit of attention and appeared to have prompted some people to think about their own actions.
Although three years on, the derogatory comments from the sidelines toward referees appear to remain an issue.
In fact, it’s been suggested there has been an increase. Rowland declared 2025 as bad as he has seen in Southland.
He noted the sustainability of the sport will be tested if the Rugby Southland Referees Association is unable to attract new referees and retain the referees they have.
But the decline in referees isn’t a problem for that referees organisation to deal with on its own. It’s a problem the wider rugby community needs to sort out.
And it now feels like more people realise that after what has just happened in the past week or so.
There has been a growing level of public support for referees in recent days, and that’s the nice thing to come from this.
Rowland acknowledged referees shouldn’t be beyond reproach.
Like players, referees will have their good and bad days and make mistakes. And like players, there should be an expectation that they are working hard to improve.
But nasty sideline taunts aren’t the best way to achieve that improvement. There are other ways, like the work of the referee assessors that are in place.
It’s time to zip it Southland.